At the End of Hurricane Season, the Southeast Breathes Easy Again

NOV. 30 is the official end of the hurricane season, and many residents of the Gulf Coast region will empty the water from their backyard barbecues and invite their neighbors over to celebrate survival. The governors of Florida and Louisiana are encouraging their weather-weary citizens to make it a day of rejoicing and reflection.

Some relief organizations will stage events to show their appreciation to the many volunteers who continue to work to help storm victims. "Our volunteers outdo themselves during hurricane season, and we like to provide an opportunity for them to get together to unwind, relax and swap war stories," said Chris Floyd, director of emergency services for the Red Cross in Tallahassee, Fla. There will be a picnic on Dec. 3 in the parking lot of his building for 500 field volunteers. "We'll have fried chicken, ham and cole slaw, lots of pies," Mr. Floyd said. "If there's one thing the Red Cross knows how to do, it's how to feed lots of people."

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FLY AWAY A peregrine falcon injured in Hurricane Wilma was released earlier this month after recuperating at the Miami Museum of Science.

DETAILS

KEY WEST, FLA. Pirates in Paradise Festival, (305) 296-9694; www.piratesinparadise.com. Cost: Various fees for different events. When: Nov. 25 to Dec. 4. What: Annual end-of-hurricane-season celebration that includes the burning of hurricane-warning flags, beach parties, sailing on tall ships, re-enactments of pirate skirmishes and literary gatherings.

MIAMI R & R Day (Resiliency and Rebuilding Festival) at the Miami Museum of Science & Planetarium, (305) 646-4209; www.miamisci.org. Cost: Free outdoor activities. Indoor events and exhibitions require museum admission ( adults, ages 4 to 18). When: Nov. 30, 11 a.m. What: Release of wild animals rescued during this year's hurricanes. Demonstrations of various scientific phenomena. Food served inside the museum.

GALVESTON, TEX. Dickens on the Strand Festival, (409) 765-7834; www.dickensonthestrand.org. Cost: in advance, at the gate, free if you wear a Victorian-style costume. When: Dec. 3 and 4. What: Street festival celebrating the end of hurricane season and the start of the holiday season. Roaming actors and musicians, parades, craft booths, food vendors, and entertainment stages.

Forum: Travel in the News

One end-of-hurricane-season celebration open to the general public will be the Pirates in Paradise Festival, a 10-day blowout in Key West, Fla. Scheduled events include a Nov. 30 beach party at the Pier House Resort, where meteorologists from the National Weather Service and improvisational actors dressed as pirates will burn nautical hurricane-warning flags. That evening there will be a buffet and a silent auction at El Meson de Pepe, a restaurant, that will benefit people harmed by hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. After dinner, Lorian Hemingway will read from the account her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, wrote about the 1935 hurricane that devastated the Florida Keys.

Pirates in Paradise runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4, with numerous other parties and literary events as well as historical re-enactments and daily sailing ship cruises. Pirates will skirmish at sea and on the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park; food will be served and arts and crafts vendors will sell their wares.

"You build up a lot of tension during hurricane season, and this is a good release for us and a way to let the rest of the world know we're still here, that we haven't been blown away," said Julie McEnroe, an organizer of the festival. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the festival for the best pirate and "wench" costumes.

Another event celebrating the end of hurricane season is R & R Day, also known as the Resiliency and Rebuilding Festival, staged by the Miami Museum of Science and Planetarium on Nov. 30. The staff at the museum's Wildlife Center and Rehabilitation Hospital has been nursing birds and other animals hurt during this year's storms. Some of them, rested and ready to return to the wild, will be released to start the festival, which will also feature science demonstration booths on such topics as making rubber from rubber trees and isolating banana DNA. Hundreds of children from schools in areas hard hit by recent storms are expected to attend.

In Texas, residents of Galveston will celebrate the end of the hurricane season as they have since 1974, with the opening of the annual Dickens on the Strand Festival, Dec. 3 to 4. The mayor, Lyda Ann Thomas, will read a proclamation declaring the end of storm season and the opening of the Victorian-inspired festival, which takes place in the island's Strand District, a National Historic Landmark with late-19th-century architecture. Actors and musicians will roam the cobblestone streets in period costume, and there will also be parades, craft and food vendors and six entertainment stages. Proceeds will benefit the Galveston Historical Foundation.

Galveston always breathes a collective sigh of relief at the end of hurricane season. It was devastated by a hurricane in 1900 that claimed an estimated 8,000 lives and remains the worst natural disaster in American history. This year, it narrowly escaped Hurricane Rita, which struck East Texas.

"The 1900 storm that destroyed Galveston is a part of our mindset," said Molly Dannenmaier, spokeswoman for the Galveston Historical Foundation. "So we're always relieved when another hurricane season ends and we made it through O.K."