Sponsors sought for Botanical Garden 90th Anniversary Gala

​KEY WEST, Florida Keys –  The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden is seeking sponsors for it’s 90th Anniversary Gala on Friday, January 30, 2026.  Beginning at 6pm, the Gala, “Petals & Pearls” will present an evening of dining and dancing under the stars to the music of Skipper & Friends featuring Channing Lynn and featuring a live auction.
 
In early August of 1934, FERA Director of Beautification J. Gerry Curtis announced plans for a Botanical Garden that would serve as a draw to entice tourists back to the city.   The Great Depression had hit Paradise hard, drying up the winter tourism business as people everywhere no longer had disposable income to spend.  As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program, plans were developed by landscape architect Ralph Gunn to create the Botanical Garden on fifty acres of land on Stock Island.  The  Garden would receive over 7,000 plants of some 80 different species.  
 
The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden was officially opened on February 23, 1936 and is one of the oldest continuously operating tourist attractions in the City.
 
For more information contact Brigid at [email protected].