This 10 day festival (end of October) was started in 1979 to boost tourism, and hence the economy, of the Keys. October boasts a beautiful climate for seeing the region, but was previously a slow time when retailers traditionally boarded up their shops and went away themselves.
The festival started life primarily as a gay party, but is now a lot more besides including balls, costume competitions, family-friendly parades, pet parades (where dogs, cats ducks and even ferrets have costumes), street parties, drag queen contests and AIDS fundraising events. Some even say the event rivals the New Orleans Mardi Gras.
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