Masquerade March

October 30,2010



Bed Bugs



Haven & Elena

Masquerade March

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.



Wendy & Scott



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. Each year it seems to grow in popularity and now it is for many the actual highlight of the week. In fact I recently heard that there is a trend among some to check out and leave on Saturday morning and skip the big parade.









Before the march began, we joined a party at the home of our friends Wendy and Scott who have hosted a wonderful pre-party the past few years at their Olivia Street home near the cemetery. It always nice to be able to gather, see friends and make last minute prep to your costume. Everyone is in costume, many quite elaborate. Some are funny, some are sexy, but being mostly locals- there is far less overt nudity than on Duval. In fact there are many children along the route watching. It is like a great big Halloween parade for adults.





Breanne & David

After the party stop, it was into the masses to join friends along the march. 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.

Todd & Celia





Kathy & I were somewhat lazy in that we recycled our 1820s costumes from the previous night It is just too much to always create new costumes for every event, especially with our work schedules.

Cyndi & Howard





The best part of the parade 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. We saw so many this year that it is going to take two blog posts just to do it justice.



Bethany & Betsy