Fantasy Fest is a

street party A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

held annually in the last week of October in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

History

Fantasy Fest was initiated in 1979 by Bill Conkle, Tony Falcone, Joe Liszka and Frank Romano to attract tourists during the slow season. In 1995 over 60,000 people attended and there were 70 floats, bands, costumed groups and "imprecision drill teams" in the parade. In 2001 Fantasy Fest was estimated to bring $35 million to the region each year. The highlight of Fantasy Fest is its

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

featuring humorous floats, including one carrying the annually elected Conch King and Queen. The floats can be quite elaborate; costs can be $10,000 to $15,000. The expense for the floats is borne fully by the participant groups (called

krewe A krewe ( ) is a social organization that stages parades and/or balls for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, but is also used in other Carnival celebrations throughout ...

s) and their sponsors. In October 2005, the event was postponed because of devastation wrought on the island by

Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensifi ...

; instead of being held at its usual time close to

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

, it was moved to December and celebrated just before

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

. The theme that year was "Freaks, Geeks and Goddesses." 2020 was to be in its 42nd year. However, that year's event was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and deferred to 2021.

Typical Fantasy Fest Experiences

Fantasy Fest has been compared to

New Orleans Mardi Gras The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the West ...

and

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: ''Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro'') is a festival held every year before Lent; it is considered the biggest celebration of Carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets. The first ...

. As with New Orleans Mardi Gras on

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (, ) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending twelve blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs. Tourist numbers have b ...

in New Orleans, Fantasy Fest tend to attract many people to the concentration of bars along Duval Street. Most of the event is adult oriented, however, there are family friendly events. Nudity is illegal in Key West, but on the last two days of Fantasy Fest the city designates a "Fantasy Zone" in the city where women may expose their breasts if they are covered with

body paint Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or "he ...

. Costumes worn at Fantasy Fest often feature nudity and sexual symbolism.

The King and Queen of Fantasy Fest

The King and Queen of Fantasy Fest are annual titles bestowed at the Coronation Ball, a fundraiser for a community AIDS care service, that marks the official beginning of the event. The king and queen are residents of Key West, Florida, selected via an 8-week fundraising campaign. Their Royal Court is subsequently composed of fellow Candidates who didn't raise as much, but are still honored with the titles of Duke and Duchess (and, one rare instance, Prince and Princess). For 8 weeks, these Candidates serve as ambassadors for AIDS Help, the non-profit agency that has assisted those living with HIV/AIDS in the Keys since 1986. A wildly-varied array of events are individually staged by Candidates, as well as All-Candidate events that unite the campaigns, including a spin on the 'America Idol' singing competition, a randy and raucous Sunday BINGO, a Saturday Red Shirt Run in September and mixers at familiar island venues. The Royal Court, their support staff and other key agency supporters all appear prominently in the evening Duval Street parade on a float designed specifically to highlight their financial achievement.

Events

* Goombay - a two-day street party held in Key West's Bahama Village neighborhood. It is named after the

Goombay Goombay is a form of Bahamian music and a drum used to create it. The drum is a membranophone made with goat skin and played with the hands. The term Goombay has also symbolized an event in the Bahamas, for a summer festival with short parades ...

goatskin drums that generate the party's rhythms and celebrates the heritage of Key West's large Bahamian population with food, art and a lot of dancing. *The Royal Coronation Ball - where the Conch King and Queen are crowned. * Zombie Bike Ride: family-friendly event involving costume and bicycle decoration. *Tutu Tuesday: adult costume party with tutu dress code. *The Pet Masquerade - costume contest for pets. *Fogarty's Red Party: adult party with red costumes, decor, and festivities. The original Fantasy Fest "color" party. *The Headdress Ball: gay and lesbian event by the Key West Business Guild. *The Street Fair: food, drink, costume, and arts and crafts down

Duval Street Duval Street () is a downtown commercial zoned street in Key West, Florida, running north and south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, just over 1.25 miles in length. It is named for William Pope Duval, the first territorial gov ...

. *The Masquerade March - a daytime procession through the streets of Key West. *The Fantasy Fest parade - the culmination of the festival. *Children's Day: family-friendly event held in Bayview Park with children's festivities and contests.

References

External links