Скачать или смотреть "Conch Honkers" Compete in Key West's 50th Annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest

The "American Idol" of conch shell blowing took place in Key West Saturday, and seventh-generation island resident Clinton Curry took top honors.

More than 50 fans of the fluted, pink-lined shell puckered up for the 50th annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest, often nicknamed the "conch honk."

Curry, a professional storyteller and museum director, impressed the judges by blowing a strong two-shell toot, an excerpt from composer Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" on one shell, and a single-shell 45-second blast.

The tradition of blowing a conch shell in the Keys began centuries ago. In the 1800s, when the local economy was largely based on salvaging shipwreck cargoes, sailors attracted attention by blowing piercing blasts on the shell.

"I'm all about preserving the heritage of my home town," said Curry. "I was born and raised in Key West, my family's been here for seven generations, and this is just one small piece that I get to contribute to helping preserve that history."

Today the conch shell is a symbol of the Florida Keys, also called the Conch Republic. The meat of the sea mollusk is used in conch chowder and conch fritters, two popular Keys dishes.

Judges evaluated contest entrants, who ranged from young children to seniors, on the quality, duration, loudness and novelty of the sounds they made.

Sylvia Rowland of Chesapeake, Va., triumphed in the women's division and the contest's youngest entrant, 4-year-old Sam Holland of Key West, won the children's division.

The top group entry was the Boca Chica Conchestra, whose 26 members performed a conch-shell accompaniment and offbeat dance to a recording of Kool & the Gang's "Celebration."

The contest was conceived by the Old Island Restoration Foundation, founded in 1960 to advocate the preservation of Key West's culture and historically significant buildings.