From bedazzled shells to "conch-peting" pros, Key West’s quirky tradition keeps the island’s musical spirit blowing strong and loud.
It’s not every day you hear music from a seashell. But in Key West, it’s tradition.
More than two dozen hopefuls puckered up for the 63rd Annual “Conch Honk” Saturday. Their mission? Blow the judges away. Literally. And that’sexactly what they did!
Key West Locals, known as “Conchs,” joined visitors to watch dozens of contestants test their lung power on the Keys’ most famous shell.
Bob “Hapo” Hauck (PRONOUCED HOW-CK) of Rockaway Point, Queens, N.Y., took home the men’s division title. He said he traveled to Key West specifically for this contest.
“So, I saw this on YouTube or Facebook about the conch blowing contest, and that’s what I do. It’s all about the conch for the last 10-plus years, and I wanted to ‘conch-pete,’” said Hauck.
Hauck is no casual honker. In fact, he practices his “craft” daily. “I blow the conch every day, numerous times a day, much to my neighbor’s chagrin,” he said with a grin.
The quirky contest is hosted by the Old Island Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Key West’s architectural and cultural heritage since 1960. And while it may sound silly, the conch shell has serious history here.
Long before radios or cell phones, the conch horn was how people communicated across the water. The Calusa, the native people who inhabited the Keys centuries before European settlement, blew conch shells to signal across distances. Seafarers later adopted the practice. And some ships wouldn’t ever leave shore without a conch horn on board, just in case they needed to call for help.
Judges scored each competitor on tone, volume, length and creativity.
In the girls’ division, 8-year-old Sophia Hodek (PRONOUCED HO-DECK) of Key West took home the win, blowing the same bedazzled conch shell that’s been in her family for three decades. Her mother, Angelica Hodek, a past winner herself, has seen the shell pass through generations.
“This shell has been in the family for 30 years, I’d say. In the late ’90s, we decorated it. My mom won with this conch and also my nephew and siblings. And we also won as a group,” said Angelica Hodek. “I have been trying to keep the tradition with my older daughter.”
The conch shell isn’t just an instrument…it’s a symbol of the Florida Keys. The name goes back to the early 1800s, when Bahamian immigrants — some of Key West’s first settlers — were known for eating the hardy mollusk. Locals started calling them “Conchs.” The name stuck. And today, Key West natives proudly claim the title. In fact, the island chain is known around the world as the Conch Republic.
“A conch is very resilient. We’re very strong. And our community has been strong for years and years and years,” said Key West Mayor Danise “Dee Dee” Henriquez.
The Conch Honk has been sounding off since 1960. Competitors still come from near and far to give this quirky contest their best blast. And after more than sixty years, the tradition is still echoing through Key West.
The post by Florida Keys News Bureau appears on South Florida Reporter.
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