Twenty-four year old Newton Marshall will mush the Jamaica Dog Sled team in the 210 mile Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Race later this month, and Jimmy Buffett has passed along his words of encouragement to the young musher:

This historic race takes place March 27-28, 2008 on the 210-mile Yukon River trail from Dawson City, Yukon Territory to Eagle, Alaska and back. This will be the first sanctioned sled dog race for Marshall and successful completion will be the first step by the Jamaica Dogsled Team to qualify him for the 2009 Yukon Quest.

Team godfather, singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett had these words of encouragement for Marshall: “You are one brave Jamaican mon up there in the frozen North. From all the way down here in the Caribbean, I send you all my good wishes, admiration and most of all respect for what you have accomplished and what you will accomplish.”

Learn more about the Jamaica Doglsed Team on their official website.

Pick up the “Sun Dogs” DVD documentary about the Jamaican Dog Sled Team right now by clicking here.

Jimmy Buffett’s latest Margaritaville opened yesterday in Panama City, Florida, and the Panama City News Herald has an article on it, along with a video that includes interviews with patrons and the store manager Mark Whitmer:

Jimmy Buffett hasn’t arrived yet, but spring breakers, families and other parrotheads attended the opening of Buffett’s Margaritaville in Pier Park on Wednesday.

Balloon hats rested comfortably on top of several patrons’ noggins, while bartenders served up interestingly named drinks, including Why Don’t We Get Drunk & …, Last Mango in Paris and Off to See the Lizard.

Manager Mike Whitmer said the restaurant’s live entertainment and atmosphere will be competing for the Spring Break dollar.

Check out the article and video here.

TheIndyChannel.com has an article on the frenzy this morning to purchase tickets to the July 29th concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Indianapolis.

The majority of tickets to a concert in the Indianapolis area this summer sold out in about 10 minutes Monday morning, 6News’ Julie Pursley reported.

Some fans were not too upset by the ticket situation, but others were livid.

“It’s business. That’s the way the world goes round,” said Brian Hand. “You can complain about it or do your best to get them.”

“I hate it. It’s horrible. It’s not fair,” said Jennifer Wallace.

Read the entire article and watch the video here.

Find tickets to the show now on Stubhub or TicketsNow.

The Chicago Sun-Times has an article on Buffett migrating his annual Chicago shows from Tinley Park to Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Here are some excerpts:

After 17 seasons of basing his Chicago area shows at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Tinley Park (and before that Poplar Creek), Buffett announced that on July 24 and 26 he’ll make his debut at Toyota Park, 71st and Harlem in Bridgeview. The southwest suburb is welcoming Buffett’s tailgating flock of Parrot Heads with open arms.

In Tinley Park, that wasn’t always the case. Hardcore tailgaters from Chicago migrate instead to Buffett’s shows at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wis., where they’re as accepted as beer and cheese.

“What size shark hat should I wear?” wonders Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek. “We encourage tailgaters. We have 30 acres of parking on site. The lots are well lit. We’ll have plenty of security. We know the other event to a Buffett show is the pre-concert.”

General Manager Mark Thiessen says Toyota will make “every effort” to open early. He’s now reviewing village codes: “Our goal is to make this his permanent home for as long as he continues to tour.”

“I’m a big Buffett fan — now,” said Mayor Landek, 51. “I’m not an avid music buff, but I understand this is great business. We’re prepared. We had almost 30,000 people last summer for the Eric Clapton [Crossroads guitar festival] event and it went off without a hitch.”

Read the entire article here.

The presale for the Toyota Park shows has ended. Ticket sales will resume tomorrow for the general public, Monday, March 3rd at 10 am CST on Ticketmaster. Click here for the TicketMaster purchase link.

In the February issue of “All At Sea”, a story on the 13th annual New Years Eve Regatta on St. Barts mentions Buffett and his sailboat “Groovy”:

The 26 boats that participated ranged from the smallest, Fritz Bus’ 24’ Carib Melges, to the largest, Elenora, a 162’ (overall length) replica of the mythic Nathaniel Herreshoff schooner Westward. The winner, with the fastest time around the island at 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 20 seconds was the 117’ Hamilton II.

Winners in the smaller classes were an 82’ Swan, Capo Giro, for the mid-sized boats (60 to 80 feet), and Courrier de Nuit, a 40’ sloop, in the smaller class (30 to 60 feet). A class for small boats up to 30’, which included singer Jimmy Buffett’s 30’ sloop, Groovy, was won by Alex Jouany’s 30’ sloop, Magic Carpet.

Read the entire article here.