What is a Parrot Head Club?

The POD is one of more than 200 clubs affiliated with Parrot Heads in Paradise, the national association of Jimmy Buffett Parrot Head clubs based in Atlanta. PHiP was established 15 years ago to help coordinate clubs that had been springing up around the country. Parrot Head clubs are much more than traditional musician fan clubs, however. They are designed-indeed required-to be active participants in their communities. Here at the POD, we're active with the state's Adopt a Highway program and focus our fundraising efforts on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and SERVE, Inc., a Manassas area outreach program.

A History Lesson

The Parrotheads of the Old Dominion was formed in 1986 between innings at our then-annual Jarrell's Truck Stop whiffle ball marathon that preceded Jimmy Buffett's performances at Kings Dominion. Below is the letter that first used the term "Parrotheads of the Old Dominion". It also shows our focus back in 1988.

Mike Peery Parrotheads of the Old Dominion, Chairman 325 Walnut St. Covington, VA 24426 Ph. (703) 962-7104 April 22, 1988 Mr. Paul Haught Entertainment Director King's Dominion P.O. Box 166 Doswell, VA 23047 Dear Mr. Haught: My name is Mike Peery and I am chairman of Parrotheads of the Old Dominion. This group is essentially a local Jimmy Buffett fan club. We have always enjoyed the yearly show at King's Dominion. Over the years, it has become a tradition. Common knowledge among Parrotheads is that it is the best Jimmy Buffett show in the entire Eastern United States. Last year was probably the best show ever. Having the Saturday night show start at 9:00 p.m. was a terrific idea and the later, the better. This spring I purchased thirteen tickets, ten for the Sunday show and three for the Monday show. But when I received my tickets I was distressed to read that beer would not be sold at the concert. And I was not alone; many other Parrotheads shared their ill feelings about this fact with me. There are many things that make the King's Dominion show so great (excluding Jimmy himself), but the most important thing is the fact that beer has always been sold at the concert, and that is has been distributed so efficiently. Buffett plays few places which sell beer, and as Virginians we have been very proud to call this yearly event our own. It has become a tradition that we are not ready to give up. I strongly urge you at King's Dominion to reconsider your position and decide to sell beer at this summer's Jimmy Buffett concerts. If the crowd had historically been a problem, I could understand your refusal to sell beer, but this has not been the case. The people who attend these shows are happy, friendly, and courteous. We are not out to destruct anything or harm anyone. We just like to have a good time at one of the most enjoyable events of the year. King's Dominion takes a sizable chunk of our money each summer. Concert prices have doubled over the past few years, not to mention the ever-rising price of park admission. We have never complained because a great time is had by all. But part of this great time is being able to drink at the concert. We would not want to take action against King's Dominion, but if your decision is not reversed we may have no choice. Since we have already purchased our tickets it would be senseless to boycott the show this year, but I would not rule this our for future years. If beer is not sold at this year's concerts, we will be forced to take some action. Needless to say there will be many unhappy Parrotheads. Again, we are not asking for anything we do not deserve. We are simply requesting that those of legal drinking age in the state of Virginia be allowed to comsume beer sold by King's Dominion at the two Jimmy Buffett concerts this summer. I will be expecting a response in the very near future. Thank you for taking our dilemma into serious consideration. Sincerely, Mike Peery Parrotheads of the Old Dominion

A lot has changed since those days when a tailgate was a bottle of Pepe Lopez and a shot glass. That was back in the days before the term "Parrothead" was divided into two words and trademarked. While our focus has evolved, one thing hasn't changed. That is the often inexplicable bond shared by Buffett fans, the bond that has the tendency to convert parking lot tailgates into reunions of ever growing circle of friends.

It wasn't until 1995, that we figured out that the POD was not the only parrothead family to experience this phenomenon. In early 1995, the POD founders elected to affiliate with the national network, Parrot Heads in Paradise. As a result the POD welcomes new members and operates a year-round program of charitable, environmental and social events that allow local parrotheads to spread their feathers more frequently than the annual parking lot tailgate and to do some community service in the process.