Order by August 1 to have badges mailed before the Labor Day weekend celebration

KEY WEST, Fla. — Attendees heading to Key West for the annual Just a Few Friends celebration can collect the weekend one sticker at a time with this year’s collectible souvenir charity Event Badge.

Worn throughout the five-day Labor Day weekend celebration, September 3–7, the badge helps festival friends recognize one another around the island while offering special access, local offers and opportunities to collect exclusive stickers from participating events, activities, businesses and sponsor locations.

By the end of the weekend, no two badges will look quite the same. One might carry a sticker from the Cheeseburger Beach Battle at the Southernmost, another from an afternoon on the water with Danger Charters, and still another from a favorite concert, local hangout or unexpected stop along the way. Together, the stickers transform each badge into a colorful record of the places visited, music heard and friendships made while celebrating the music, memories and enduring spirit of Key West’s favorite son.

The collectible credential features this year’s tribute to Shrimp Boat Sound, the legendary Key West recording studio founded by Jimmy Buffett. The back includes designated spaces for official stickers, allowing badge holders to gradually build a one-of-a-kind keepsake throughout the weekend. Those who collect 10 official stickers will unlock an exclusive reward available at Monday’s Pencil Thin Mustache Contest at the Chart Room.

A blank space on the front can be personalized with the badge holder’s name, hometown, number of shows attended or another detail that helps tell their story. A QR code on the badge becomes active September 3 and provides a constantly updated guide to badge-holder benefits, participating business offers, schedule information, important announcements and links to select virtual programming for those unable to attend in person.

Badge holders also receive reserved viewing at Sunday’s Party in the Park concert featuring Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band, Will Kimbrough and Mac McAnally; early entry to The Wheeland Brothers concert Saturday and Cayman & the Mango Men concert Monday at Sunset Pier; early access to join the Second Line Memorial Parade lineup; and advance notification when new festival events and tickets become available.

The badge is not a ticket to the festival. The Second Line Memorial Parade, Party in the Park and most music events remain free and open to everyone. Purchasing a badge is instead a way to support the charitable heart of the weekend while receiving a few special benefits along the way.

One hundred percent of regular badge proceeds go through the nonprofit Community Foundation of the Florida Keys to benefit Reef Relief, the Bahama Village Music Program and scholarships for local high school students pursuing music, music production, technical arts, marine science and conservation. Together, badge holders helped raise more than $45,000 for local charitable causes in 2025.

Badges ordered by August 1 will be mailed to the address provided during the first week of August. Badges ordered after August 1 will be available for pickup only at festival headquarters, located at First Legal Rum, 105 Simonton Street, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during the celebration. Badges included with VIP Hotel Packages will be held in Key West and delivered directly to guests’ hotels.

To purchase a collectible souvenir charity Event Badge or learn more about Just a Few Friends, visit www.justafewfriendskeywest.com.

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