Toga, Toga, Toga

October 26, 2007





Toga, Toga, Toga





Rain continued to play havoc on Fantasy fest activities yesterday. This has to be the rainiest Fantasy Fest ever with over twelve inches of rain having fallen since Goombay last weekend and more in the forecast today. For the first time in history the huge Pretenders in Paradise costume competition at the Pier House was cancelled. The threat of rain and high winds off the ocean caused organizers to call the event off yesterday afternoon. Turns out, they probably could have gotten the event in as it only lightly misted last evening which was good news for the many Fantasy Fest parties going on downtown.





The weather may also be affecting float construction, as efforts yesterday seemed to stagnate a little, I’m sure it will be completed on time, being that the parade is tomorrow we need to get busy. We haven’t even started on our parade costumes yet. Of course our own busy Fantasy Fest schedule could be a factor.





Last night, I ventured down into the heart of the madness. Duval Street was blocked off for most of its length and two huge parties being the draw. At Sloppy Joe’s was the traditional annual Toga party and down the street at Mangoes was a more recent Fantasy Fest addition, the Playboy magazine Pajama Party. Both drew huge crowds of people dressed in either togas or some sort of crazy lingerie or pajamas. Since neither venue could actually hold all the people who wanted in, the street itself became as usual, a massive costume party. It’s a zany mix of craziness and one never knows what you might witness.







I wasn’t really a participant, choosing to walk around checking out the scene and many of our friends who were out and about. After a few laps through the craziness, I headed over to the packed Green Parrot where the party band, The Red Elvises, was playing. There I could hear the music and keep up with the score of the World Series at the same time. After all that we have done this week, Fantasy Fest is really just getting underway with the two biggest events tonight and tomorrow, The Masquerade March and the Parade. We will be participating in both. If you care to watch the craziness live, check out the link below. The parade starts at 7 PM tomorrow (October 27) but there is a street fair most of the weekend that often gets interesting.

http://www.liveduvalstreet.com/

Pet Masquerade & Red Party

October 25, 2007





Pet Masquerade & Red Party





Fantasy Fest roars on as the week progresses with a variety of crazy events and preparations for the big parade Saturday night ongoing. The float builders continue to make excellent progress as both major sections of the float are well underway. Testing of the motion of the oil derrick section was taking place and it seemed to work flawlessly. Now, we just need to get busy getting our costumes together. Of course it would be much easier if we didn’t spend every evening attending other Fantasy Fest events. Last night, we hit two more major happenings, the Pet Masquerade and Fogarty’s 6th annual Red Party.





Rhett & Melissa


The Pet Masquerade is one of the few family friendly Fantasy Fest events. Held again this year at The Westin resort, the Pet Masquerade brings out a huge cross section of Keys residents in a competition to determine which pets are decked out in the best costumes. Dogs, Cats, Exotic Birds, Ducks, Turtles, Pot-Bellied Pigs and even a pet Lobster all showed up to help benefit the Lower Keys Friends of Animals. As always there was a crazy collection of people and their animals, the vast majority of them locals.

Kelsey

Amy

Martha & Lobster Boy

Later in the evening, after decking ourselves out in red, Kathy & I went down to get in line for what has become in six years one of the most popular, imitated and well attended parties of Fantasy Fest week. In fact recent additions of the Green Party and the Plaid Party demonstrate that imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery. It was Fogarty’s bar & restaurant that started the simple theme of having all attendees dress in some form of the color Red to attend. It has taken off, so much so that there was a long, long line waiting to get into the party that was long when we arrived and longer still when we eventually made our way home, despite a massive rain storm that drenched the assembled throng.

Kathy & Michael

The throng

Kathy, Rick & Amy

Headdress Ball

October 24, 2007



Kathy

Headdress Ball



There are a ton of Fantasy Fest events, more being added each year, but some have actually been around since the beginning and one of these is the annual Headdress Ball which is celebrating 25 years this year. The event is the premier event for Key West’s Gay & Lesbian community and harkens back to the original founding of Fantasy Fest as a party and fundraiser for the Key West Business Guild.

Fantasy Fest King Chris, Kathy & Queen Mary Lou






This year the party was held in a new location, the Southernmost Hotel and Matt & Carrie at Southernmost went all out, bringing in a huge big-top tent that allowed a huge increase in the number of potential attendees. Neither Kathy nor I had been to the Ball in more than 10 years and we figured it was about time we returned to check it out. Kathy wanted to wear her Flamingo costume, which features a nice head-piece.

Amy, Kathy, Joe & Michael



There was a huge crowd and we ran into a number of our friends, but I must admit that we both recall the costumes being much more spectacular back in the day. There were some great Headdresses for sure, but my guess is most of the best costume designers hold out for the larger exposure and more lucrative prizes of Pretenders in Paradise.



Fantasy Fest float building is making excellent progress over at Dave’s place. Rick & Steve have begun to build their portion of the float and Dave’s Global Warming monster is growing each day. The entire thing is really starting to come together. Kudos to all those who have been busy working on the float. It really is a ton of work, and Kathy & I have been too busy to help out much this year. The town seems really busy and abuzz this year, it seems like traffic is already becoming heavy and downtown is bustling already.

Hutch, Bethany & Dave apply skin.

Goombay

October 23, 2007





Goombay

Cammy, Shaggy, Kathy, Bethany, Howard & Krista

The official kick-off of Fantasy Fest, Key West’s largest annual celebration, Goombay Festival was held over the weekend and despite torrential downpours, lightning and over 5 inches of rain on Saturday night alone, Fantasy Fest is off to a good, if damp, start.





Friday night began pretty well, as huge throngs crowded Bahama Village for Goombay. We headed down and had the traditional meat on a stick meal. The food and entertainment at Goombay is always excellent and it is certainly one of the most popular and fun festivals of the year. We always see tons of our local friends, many who we may not have seen in ages. This year was no exception, and things were going wonderfully well until the skies opened up around 9 PM.







We had the good fortune to be trapped in Letty Nowak’s Lemonade Stand art gallery at the time, and we stayed there mingling until the rain let up enough for us to head across the street to the indoor bar at Blue Heaven restaurant. While the rain fell, we remained indoors, but once it stopped, we headed out to the back courtyard where the band resumed and the party continued. It is such a great spot and it has a special vibe during Goombay. Thankfully the rain on Friday subsided and did not return until the next evening. I made it down to Goombay again on Saturday afternoon for lunch, with hopes of returning yet again after dark, but massive storms moved into Key West, drenching the island and pretty much ending Goombay prematurely.





Sunday, we went over and checked out progress on the Fantasy Fest float. It’s another joint effort as the Lazy Dog/ Rick Keith collaboration is set once again. Check out the links below to see this year’s float theme. Progress seems to be coming along, though personally, we are a little behind in our preparations.

Hutch building float.

Sunday evening, we were back at another unique, Key West style birthday party. This one was for our friend Jody Thomas and was held out on the White Street pier. It was a great place as all the necessary party supplies, food, drink, tables and chairs were carried out to the end of the pier for a beautiful night. It was a great time. Happy Birthday Jody!

Jody & Bob





Now Fantasy Fest moves into high gear, with a number of crazy events on the horizon. Hopefully the weather will be better than it was for Goombay.

http://www.goombay-keywest.org/

http://www.rickeith.com/

http://www.lazydogadventure.com/float_2007.htm

http://www.fantasyfest.net/