Fast Buck Fredddie’s
Historic Duval St. in Old Town Key West offers the best people watching, eating and drinking and, most importantly, the best shopping in South Florida. Everybody who comes to the island eventually gets around to cruising this street, where some of the most unusual and original shops offer something for everyone.
Anchored at one end by Mallory Square and at the other by the southernmost point in the United States, Duval Street’s boutiques and gift shops are as much of the local charm as the gorgeous sunsets.
Whatever you want to purchase is probably available somewhere on Duval & at almost any hour you want to do it. Though there are plenty of tacky tee shirt shops peddling items of questionable taste, there are dozens of fine stores selling the excellent work of local artists and craftspeople.
National chain stores such as Banana Republic, Coach and Express have moved in and satisfy some of the shopping needs in a town that does not boast even a single mall. More memorable, however, is Fast Buck Freddie’s – an amazing emporium of fine clothing, home decorations and gifts that townsfolk call the “Southernmost Bloomingdale’s” – with window displays that could compete with Tiffany’s.
Off Duval you will find Key West Hand Print Fabrics on Simonton Street with their colorful and locally produced clothing, and Key West Aloe on Front St. which has been making and marketing all-natural skin creams and cosmetics for over 25 years. One unique shopping destination on the waterfront is The Key Lime Shop which, as the name implies, makes and sells only items made from the legendary local citrus fruit. Caroline Street is another colorful Old Town street with eye-popping shops such as Local Color, Blue and Global Nomad.
If you are interested in original designs for your home, you must visit Glass Reunions on Duval Street. You’ll find the incredible work of noted stain glass artist Greg McDonald. Exquisite arts and crafts genre lamps found in few galleries worldwide.
The New Miss America 2008
Haglund, of Farmington Hills, Mich., sang “Over the Rainbow” and walked a crowd-pleasing strut in a black and gold bikini to clinch the title. She beat Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash, the first runner up, and Miss Washington Elyse Umemoto, the second runner up for the $50,000 scholarship and year of travel that comes with the crown.Haglund, who studies music at the University of Cincinnati, grew up in a pageant family. Her mother is an active volunteer, and her grandmother Iora Hunt, competed for the crown as Miss Michigan 1944. Hunt joined Haglund at a news conference.”The only words that come to my mind is that this is a dream come true, not just for me but for my family as well,” Haglund said. “I’m not just standing up here alone.”Haglund, a cheery, classic blond, wore a revealing silver sequined dress and black bikini during the evening gown and swimsuit portions of the pageant. As her platform issue, she promised to advocate for awareness of eating disorders, an illness from which she has recovered.
Miss Florida
Kylie Williams, Miss Florida 2007, is a Senior at Florida State University pursuing a BS degree in Marketing and a Minor in Communications. At FSU she is a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, Delta Class coordinator, member of the Student Government, MADD, Greek Basic, and Bacchus & Gamma Peer Education Network.She graduated summa cum laude from North Florida Community College in Madison where she was President of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Secretary of Student Government, named to Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges and volunteered with Habitat For Humanity. Kylie graduated as Valedictorian of Hamilton High School and was awarded a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and the President’s Award for Excellence. During high school, she was President of Student Government for two consecutive years, Freshmen class Vice President, Beta Club Vice President, Representative to Girls State, and was selected as a Governor’s High School All-Star.
Kylie began volunteering in her community at the age of 5 and continued throughout elementary, middle and high school. She is especially proud of her volunteer work in a local nursing home where she was a caregiver to a special patient for four years. As a result of her volunteer efforts, she was honored for Outstanding Community Service, Outstanding Hurricane Victims Volunteer and July 2, 2002 was proclaimed Kylie Williams Day in her hometown of Jasper.She began singing in church, accompanied at the guitar by her grandfather and her mother at the piano. She continued to perform and sing throughout her childhood and teenage years and was invited to be a featured solo act during concerts for Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Charlie Daniels, Montgomery Gentry and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Her love for performing was one of the reasons she first entered the Miss Florida Pageant in 2002.
Kylie competed for six years before capturing the title of Miss Florida 2007. She competed in the 2007 state finals as Miss Tallahassee and held previous titles of Miss Baymeadows, Miss Jacksonville, Miss North Florida, Miss Daytona Beach and Miss Florida State University. She won Talent at the State Competition for her rendition of “I Want to Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart” and will perform the same selection at the 2008 Miss America Pageant. She also won Swimsuit and Evening Wear during the Preliminary Competitions.One day while spending time with a friend that had served in the Marines during the Iraq war she found that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was this encounter that prompted Kylie to learn more about the service men and women that serve our country and it wasn’t long until Realistic Support For The Troops was founded as a not for profit organization. Kylie has focused her efforts in corresponding with the troops overseas and coordinated a drive to send 1,000 shoe boxes through Operation Shoebox, a charitable organization in Belleview, Florida. She encouraged elementary students to send cards and letters to our service force through the program,
Little Patriots, and hopes to launch the program on a state and national level. She has volunteered and spoken to groups and organizations in an effort to raise funds and support for the VA Hospitals in Florida. Kylie’s troop involvement was recognized by Major General Douglas A. Burnett, the Adjutant General of the Florida Army National Guard, when he presented her with the Coin of Excellence during the Opening Day Ceremonies for the Florida Legislature at the State Capitol. She was one of 30 civic leaders invited to watch members of the Florida National Guard as they performed their combat field training in a deployed mock environment as part of their annual training. Kylie has been named the
Official Ambassador for Veteran’s Advocacy for the State of Florida by the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affair. In this capacity, she will raise community awareness of the needs for the 1.8 million veterans of Florida. Of equal importance, she will also raise the awareness of veterans and their families of the program and services in place for them.In addition to promoting her own platform, as Miss Florida, Kylie will be an advocate and supporter of the Children’s Miracle Network. In the Fall she will embark on a school tour speaking to middle school students on the importance of making good decisions in their everyday lives.
Miss America 2008
Miss America 2008, will be the 83rd Miss America pageant. The pageant will air live from Planet Hollywood, in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, January 26th on the TLC Network.
Key West Entertainment and Charters 