Fantasy Fest Parade- Part II

October 27, 2008





Fantasy Fest Parade- Part II

Michael & Kathy



The parade itself is an amazing experience. Having experienced it as both a participant and viewing it from any number of locations in past years, I have to say there is nothing quite like the experience of being on a float. I was trying to figure out how many times that I have been on a float, and my best estimate is somewhere between 10 and 14 times. It gets a little hazy going back.







Being so far toward the back, much of the parade has passed people by the time we even get started down Southard Street. This gives us additional time to get ready as well as additional time to enjoy the party atmosphere in the staging area. We had 4 kegs this year and probably around 75 people in our group, a combination of seasoned float veterans and newcomers and friends experiencing the parade for the first time.





Of course despite our best efforts, things invariably go wrong and this year was no exception as the beautiful rolling bar known as the MASH unit (Military Alcoholic Serving Hut) lost its wheels when we pushed away from our starting spot. A save the kegs scramble ensued as the bar was left behind and the kegs made their way onto the float.



Other than that things went fairly well, we had a great band playing on the roof, The Michael Dixon band, which kept the music playing and the people dancing. We also had purchased cases of beautiful blue beads to toss out to the crazed crowds that lined the streets. The size of the crowd was down somewhat, no doubt the economy and weather were factors. The final estimate was 50,000, down from the usual 70,000 that attend, though it was still really crowded, especially along Duval Street.



Lisa & Tonni



Eliza

Having less people made it easier to pick out friends along the route and I was able to see many friends watching the parade. The crowd was pretty well behaved as well as I witnessed no major fights or disturbances and people seemed appreciative of our float.

Craig & Jodie

Gae

There are two brief stops along the route, the TV stand in front of the LaConcha Hotel and the judging stand that is near the end of the route just past Truman. Having the judging so late works against us as many of the participants in our float imbibe heavily along the route and many are quite tipsy by the time they reach the judges. The creativeness of our effort is often offset by the drunken misdeeds of some of our people, it is unfortunate but does not detract from the good time that we are having.

Jen

The post parade is always a good time as we park the float and continue the party just off Duval. I always end up fairly sore from the walking and the heat and humidity this year was especially oppressive, but it was another great Fantasy Fest and thankfully the rain held off for the entire parade. Post parade celebrations drifted off toward the Green Parrot and La Te Da as we avoided the madness of lower Duval Street. Thanks as always to Rick Keith, Ernie, MJ and all those who helped make this another stellar year.

Rick



Michael Dixon Band

Fantasy Fest Parade- Part I

October 26, 2008





Fantasy Fest Parade- Part I

Mark & Wendi



Pirates, Pundits, and Political Party Animals was the official theme for Fantasy Fest this year and it brought forth a variety of politically themed floats and costumes. In fact, in the 18 years since I first attended Fantasy Fest back in 1991, I don’t believe politics has ever been incorporated into the theme. With the hotly contested Presidential election only 10 days after the festival, people went all out in skewering their favorite politicians.



Janine, Gae & Kathy

Our float was once again the brain child of the ever inventive Rick Keith. Our float was a military theme as we were Soldiers of Love bringing forth Weapons of Mass Affection. Our support for Barack Obama was evident as well as we had huge Obama signs incorporated into the float vehicle.





Saturday of Fantasy Fest dawned overcast, hot and steamy. The torrential rains of the past week created a super-high humidity and there was an ever-present threat of more rain, but thankfully it never materialized. We spent the day making final adjustments to our camouflage garb costumes before heading down to the parade marshalling area at Truman annex.



The floats line up in order during the day on Saturday, this year we were number 55 out of 64 entries, meaning that we have plenty of time to wait after the official start of the parade at 7 pm. This is one of my favorite times of the day as we have the opportunity to walk around and see the other entries and see many of our friends.

Todd & Celia



There were a bunch of excellent floats this year. Among the best were Key West Burlesque’s wonderful circus theme float and what eventually and deservedly won the overall first prize: the Dragon float that was put together by our friend Dana over at Mama Flowers and the Dragon boat folks.

Arlo

Esme



As always, we were placed in the line-up with our friends from Lazy Dogs/ Hurricane Hole. They had another great float with a 70s disco political theme taken from the recent film/play Mama Mia, called Obama Mia. David Richard who had spearheaded the Lazy Dog effort since its inception has moved on from Key West and was missed, but his legacy lives on through the efforts of the Lazy Dog crew.

Obama Mia



The other good thing about the pre-parade is the excellent lighting that the setting sun provides, giving about perfect conditions for photos for about 15 minutes or so. I took a ton of photos this year, and it was tough to select just a few to represent all the mayhem that is Fantasy Fest. I am once again breaking up my Fantasy Fest entry into two postings to try to include as many as possible.



Autumn

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.