Fantasy Fest, Florida Keys
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.
The whole week kicks off with a street party celebrating Caribbean culture, know as ‘Goombay’ and the highlight of the event is a parade with many humorous floats with one carrying the conch King and Queen, who are annually elected to ‘represent’ the Conchs (as local people sometimes call themselves). You may even hear the island referred to as the Conch republic!
There is definitely an adult element to the festival that some describe the festival as one of the hottest Halloween celebrations in the U.S.A. with body paint, alcohol flowing and general debauchery. Many of the cars and restaurants organise and sponsor their own themed parties in addition to the official Fantasy Fest events scheduled. You will usually find parties with the following themes each year – ‘Plaid Party (wear plaid!), Red Night (you guessed it – wear something red!), beach party (need I elaborate?), monster ball, a pirate bash, toga parties and much more besides. If you intend to go you are advised to check out the official web site to the full list of events for each year
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