St. Columba Episcopal Church in Marathon will host “Kilts in the Keys: Where the Highlands Meet the Islands” on Sept. 27 at Dockside at Boot Key Harbor, offering a preview of the Florida Keys Celtic Festival while raising money to support the church’s free programs for local children.
The event will run from 5 to 7 p.m. and feature live music from the Scallywags, who will perform a mix of Irish folk music, pirate sea shanties and other crowd favorites.
Rev. Deb McConaughey of St. Columba joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the event.
McConaughey said, “Dockside is a floating restaurant bar. It’s right on the harbor, and you can see the boats go by. It’s just kind of a great place.”
Admission to the event is free, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting St. Columba’s free after-school programs.
McConaughey said the church has offered its after-school program for 15 years. The program provides a structured and safe place for children after school, with transportation from Stanley Switlik and separate facilities for younger and older elementary students.
“We’re just trying to support the community, support the children,” McConaughey said. “Children do really well when they have a structured program, someplace safe that they can attend, where people care about them and love them, and that’s why we do it.”
The program currently serves children through elementary school. McConaughey said there are particularly large numbers of kindergarteners and first-graders enrolled this year.
St. Columba also offers Cub Scouts on Wednesdays beginning at 4 p.m. Children do not have to be enrolled in the after-school program to participate.
The church’s outreach efforts extend beyond its children’s programs. McConaughey said St. Columba’s 16-unit workforce housing project at 1655 is now fully rented after a challenging development process.
“There are a lot of times when we felt like, ‘Oh, what’s going to happen next?’” McConaughey said. “But truly, we did have a lot of God moments in there, thinking, ‘How are we going to pay for this?’ But we did it — 16 units of workforce housing.”
McConaughey also highlighted the church’s Nearly New Thrift Shop with clothing and shoes and a separate furniture store near the turn toward Key Colony that sells donated furniture, appliances and other items.
The church’s next $5 bag sale is scheduled for Sept. 26 from 8 a.m. to noon. McConaughey said the sale was paused during the summer because of the heat but will return with a large selection of donated items.
“We have a lot of stuff and great, great things,” she said.
McConaughey said the church’s various outreach efforts are centered on serving others.
St. Columba’s message is simple: “Love God, love your neighbor, and welcome.”
“It’s all to our cause,” McConaughey said, referring to the church’s outreach programs and services.
The Sept. 27 “Kilts in the Keys” event is being presented as a prelude to the Florida Keys Celtic Festival, with support from Visit Florida Keys and Key West and the Florida Keys Marathon.
For more information about St. Columba’s after-school program or Cub Scouts, the church can be reached at 743-6412 or by clicking here: https://www.stcolumbamarathon.org/.