Masquerade March

October 25, 2008





Masquerade March

Elena



The two largest events of Fantasy Fest are the parade that culminates the week on Saturday night, and the annual Masquerade March which is held each year at 5 PM on Friday evening. Departing from the Key West cemetery, the march offers participants a choice of routes that wind through Old Town before eventually spilling out onto Duval Street to join the street fair.

Chris

Nadene & Graf

The march offers locals and some visitors a chance to get dressed up and participate in Fantasy Fest without some of the mayhem of Saturday night. I thought that with a serious threat of rain, that there might be fewer people marching, but the crowd seemed much larger than in previous years, at least on the Fleming Street route that we selected.



Kristen-Paige & Chris

Before the march began, we joined a party at the home of our friends Bob Muens and Jody Thomas who served up sandwiches and beer before the parade began. Sadly this is one tradition that will be ending as they are moving on from Key West to rejoin the real world in Washington DC, well maybe not the real world, but a slightly more civilized at least.

Brewster & Lynn

Lisa

After a quick stop, it was into the masses to join friends along the march. The rain held off, but it was wickedly hot and humid, I think I must have sweated off about 5 pounds along the way, despite frequent stops at many guesthouses which provided free drinks for participants along the route.





Kim

The march is fun on many levels, the innovative and humorous costumes, the sense of community, the wonderful light-hearted ambiance all make for one of the hi-lights of Fantasy Fest. The best part is that you see so many friendly and familiar faces, both in the marchers and in the crowds that line the street to watch. Locals have not yet been overwhelmed by tourists on Friday and we see so many friends who amaze us with their creativity.

Gae & Janine

Todd & Celia

Kathy, Robin, Michael & Sue

The march lasted a couple of hours before we were deposited into the Duval Street madness. Being hot and sweaty and knowing that we still had a long evening ahead, I decided to go home shower and change from our Plutonians for Obama costume into the Miss Taken costume I wore during last year’s march. Then it was back downtown for the huge party that is Fantasy Fest.





Matt & Debbie

There is so much going on that it is not possible to do it all, but we gave it the old college try by spending time at Mango’s before heading to the La Concha hotel where our friend Rob’s band, The Prime Movers were playing. Next it was to a wonderful after-party at the Lazy Dogs store before closing out the evening at the Green Parrot, which is where we were when the rain finally hit. Thankfully it had no real effect on anything as it arrived so late or should I say early on Saturday.