Girls’ Youth Group Shares Key West Heritage with Candy -Making Demo Event

Candy Girls Key West will be demonstrating their candy-making skills which revive and pay homage to a time when candy was made in the kitchens and gardens of many Key West homes.  The event will take place at the Oldest House & Garden Museum Saturday, December 12th at 3 pm.  Tickets are $10 which benefit Old Island Restoration Foundation and all candy sales will go to the Candy Girls, established by Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church, Key West and supports The Phyllis M. Allen Scholarship fund for youth there.

Candy Girls was born in Adriene Lynne Leggett Casamayor’s home in Key West, FL. As the Youth Director at her church, Lynne gathered youngsters to try their hands at making Glass Candy which had been very popular and sold in the Bahama Village Community of Key West.  Having mastered making Glass Candy, they decided to revive the lost art of candy-making in our island community.

Key West’s Old-Fashioned Pulled Peppermint and Old-Fashioned Fudge were next on their menu of Key West candies to recreate for confection connoisseurs.  Back in the day, KeyWesters that made the Pulled Peppermint candy commonly fixed a stainless steel hook on their kitchen walls for candy-pulling. Key West Candy Girls invented their own device that they use to pull the candy.   Now, a limited number of spectators will be able to watch them use their “gadget” while hearing tales of Key West candy-making old and new.

Lynne commented, “The Key West Old-Fashioned Fudge is made with secret ingredients rediscovered from a recipe used by my Great-Grandmother, Ma Vera.  She passed in 2004 at the age of 107”.  She continued, “My cousin Pat who is 94 years young and a master candy maker critiqued our first batches and confirmed that the Candy Girls had rediscovered something magical that was only present in the original fudge made by Ma Vera”.

The Executive Director of Old Island Restoration Foundation which maintains the Oldest House & Garden Museum remarked, “Candy Girls Key West is keeping Key West culinary and cultural heritage alive and the garden at Key West’s Oldest House is the perfect, safely-distanced space to feature their artistry”.  Masks and physical distancing will be required and hand sanitizer provided.  For more information and tickets, please visit www.oldesthousekeywest.com to purchase candy online visit www.candygirlskeywest.com

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