We love Key West’s annual Fantasy Fest! Although we go all out for our Christmas celebration, Fantasy Fest takes the cake. We often refer to it—tongue-in-cheek of course— as our High Holy Days. Every year before the 10-day celebration comes to an end, we are already planning our costumes for the next year and looking forward to enjoying the revelry with houseguests and friends.
The Love Boat 2014!
Our festivities kicked off on Friday, October 17th with the Royal Coronation Ball on the water at the Southernmost Beach Café. We always love the camaraderie as Key West Locals turnout to thank and support the candidates for King and Queen of Fantasy Fest that have worked so diligently raising money for AIDS Help. As usual, the homespun stage show did not disappoint; leaving us with a year’s worth of stories to tell.
The Zombie Bike Ride 2014!
One of our favorite Fantasy Fest events is the relatively new We Cycle Bike Shop’s Zombie Bike Ride. Created by Marky Pierson, Evan Haskell, and Chris Needham in 2009, the Zombie Bike Ride has quickly grown from a couple hundred people to an epic 10,000 undead riders this year! We were thrilled with the new starting location at the East Martello Fort where we could not get enough of the incredibly creative costumes. The amazingly high number of spectators lining the parade route, the perfect October weather, and the memorable time spent with friends, made for a perfect Sunday evening.
The Undead! What Fun!!!
The best people watching of the week could be found at Kelly’s Kinky Karnival at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill & Brewery on Monday night. We love that this annual event is a true costume party. Everyone must have on a “kinky costume” in order to enter. No doubt, we spied Water and Mary Jo for Omaha working their best Dominatrix and Leather Man gear.
The Masquerade March on Friday was undoubtedly the highlight of our week. Friends gathered at our home on Olivia Street to gear up for the annual people’s parade. We were knocked out by the extraordinary costumes on display. Starting at the far end of the Key West Cemetery, we joined thousands and thousands of costumed revelers strolling through the heart of Old Town. Stopping countless time to get our picture snapped, we could not help but feel like Britney Spears walking a rock and roll red carpet!
The Masquerade March is our favorite Fantasy Fest event!
With “The Fat Lady Sings” Tea Dance on Sunday evening at the new and improved La Te Da, our amazing week of fun and frolic came to a close. Knowing we would soon wave goodbye to our out-of-town friends, our tinge of sadness was overshadowed by our happy memories of Fantasy Fest 2014.
Keith & Dean
Click here to visit Fantasy Fest’s website.
Click here to visit the Zombie Bike Ride’s website.