Stock Island, often overlooked in favor of Key West, is in transition. Brick oven pizzerias, French bakeries, and luxury hotels are opening across Stock Island while its commercial fishing industry and foodie culture experience significant renewal.
An annual Stock Island Lighted Boat Parade will showcase a thrilling spectacle of sparkling boats. Additionally, pre-party dock walks and Coastlove marine debris clean-up sessions will take place.
Food & Drink
The Stock Island Festival is a five-day celebration of all things Stock Island, an idyllic village across Cow Key Channel Bridge from Key West. Featuring one-of-a-kind Stock Island-related activities and providing an authentic, immersive experience in culture, food, drink, and history.
Foodies will find plenty to love during this weekend event, from traditional shrimp boils and Cuban pig roasts to art strolls, history tours, and water sports! Plus, you’ll taste some of the freshest off-the-boat seafood ever! Don’t miss it – join the I Love Stock Island Festival 2023 today!
Friday nights begin with an island tradition: the neighborhood fish fry. Joined together, community members enjoy seafood from Jamaican, Caribbean, and Cuban restaurants and meet their chefs, owners, and staff at this free event. It’s a beautiful opportunity to explore Stock Island’s culinary landscape!
On Saturday, I Love Stock Island Festival 2023 presents The Taste of Stock Island Food Tour. Climb aboard and experience nine Stock Island restaurants and hotspots that offer small plate and beverage pairings at each stop on this magical journey!
Enjoy dinner specials at LL’s Test Kitchen Thursday evening during the festival, prepared by professional chefs using fresh local shrimp trained in various ways: ceviche, coconut shrimp, Creole style shrimp, and chipotle BBQ shrimp are just a few to enjoy! In addition, Rude Girl will perform live music, and Rude Girl Pool Party hosts will host Coconut Victrola Pool Parties to add extra fun.
Hogfish Bar & Grill in Safe Harbor is an island gem, serving fresh seafood in an intimate, casual environment with beautiful waterfront views and a laid-back island ambiance. Be sure to visit this restaurant during the festival for an unforgettable dining experience!
On Sunday, the festival concludes with its final day and offers many family-friendly activities, including the Stock Rock and Roll Brunch Ride, offering visitors an enjoyable way to tour the island while taking part in an afternoon brunch buffet, live music performance, and bike parade – as well as children’s craft stations and pictures with Santa.
Art & Culture
If you want to experience Key West beyond its tourist-trodden paths, I Love Stock Island Festival 2023 is for you. With its mixture of ticketed and free events highlighting what’s happening on Key West’s less-heralded southern side – an area filled with buzzy, frenetic energy that has won it rave reviews in Travel & Leisure and other national publications, brick oven pizzerias and French bakeries which wouldn’t look out of place in Connecticut suburbs as well as overall beautification are giving the neighborhood a whole new face-making it accessible and authentic alternatives to Duval Street for visitors looking for something different than Duval Street!
On Saturday, the festival will launch with a free Discover Stock Island event that gives members of the public a chance to discover Stock Island businesses, restaurants, galleries, and attractions via trolley. Those equipped with a treasure map can explore over 50 participating locations while searching for freebies, discounts, or other rewards (i.e., treasure).
On that same day, Kayak Kings will offer kayak tours through the mangroves while Oceans Edge will host a “dive-in” screening of The Grinch poolside for entertainment. Plus, you can join FYT Key West for their 5K walk/run and enjoy food truck fare at Stock Island Marina Village!
At Hogfish Bar & Grill, you can sample some of the region’s finest rum while enjoying fresh seafood at their old-fashioned shrimp boil and Roostica BBQ and Bubbles pop-up dinner, respectively. Or discover how local artists and chefs collaborate through Taste of Stock Island: an event where guests travel by trolley between six or more eateries offering outstanding small plate pairings!
For those interested in more active art experiences, the festival will also host a plein air competition that encourages participants to capture the beauty of Florida Keys through painting. Artists will work at various locations around town, including the Stock Island Arts District. More details and registration can be found here.
Entertainment & Music
Stock Island is home to many talented artists who showcase their works through its various shops and studios. There’s something here for every artistic taste – paintings, sculpture, hand-made soaps, and fabrics, no matter your preference!
If music is your passion, I love Stock Island Festival 2023, which offers an eclectic lineup of concerts and events to satisfy it. Classic rock to country will all be represented, from Willie Nelson’s 20th-anniversary Feat Camp performance as well as Old Dominion and other top artists.
Prepare to dance away! The I Love Stock Island Festival features five days of music, seafood, art, and more! Experience first-of-its-kind Stock Island activities as well as authentic, immersive experiences highlighting the local community, culture, and cuisine!
Experience Stock Island through mural tours, concerts, and the island’s pet-friendly petting zoo and animal farm; sample its favorite cuisine on a Taste of Stock Island Trolley Tour that stops by local restaurants; participate in the Lionfish Derby with multiple divisions for smaller and larger fish; experience father-son haircut events hosted at Beards & Brews Barbershop & Bar; or sample its favorite foods via Taste of Stock Island Trolley Tour.
Tours & Activities
The Stock Island Festival delivers on its name with an immersive experience like no other, featuring unique activities inspired by Stock Island and authentic, immersive experiences. The festival highlights this quaint, tightly knit working island’s rich heritage while simultaneously celebrating its vibrant character and future – with events like the Key West Headdress Ball, self-paced mural art tours, foodie excursions, and food tours as hallmarks.
ShrimpStock, the signature event of this festival, features an old-school classic shrimp boil with fresh local Key West pink shrimp, smoked sausages, new potatoes, and sweet corn on the cob, complemented by happy hour and full bar service with panoramic waterfront views. In addition, there will be a Beer Garden serving cold beverages from local breweries and wineries.
Finz Dive Center and Hunter Sportfishing present the Key West Lionfish Derby, featuring multiple divisions for the smallest, largest, and most fish. F45 Bootcamp Workout on The Perry Hotel event lawn, yoga on the water, and boat parade are other exciting highlights of this festival.
Beards & Brews Barbershop & Bar will again host this famous annual Father & Son Haircuts benefitting the AIDS Foundation of the Keys event, offering fathers and their sons free haircuts when accompanied by paying adults.
Stock Island boasts more than 50 artists and craftspeople working from their own spaces on Stock Island, creating a rustic yet eclectic arts district. A guided one-hour tour by Up The Keys Tours allows guests to discover this fantastic creative hub where lighting designers, woodworkers, sailmakers, soap creators, and more all reside.
Take a trolley ride through Stock Island restaurants for an early evening culinary tour organized by I Love Stock Island to sample small plates and beverage pairings from a selection of Stock Island eateries. At each stop, learn from chefs, owners, or sommeliers about what each restaurant is serving up as part of this early evening culinary journey.
