Masquerading Pets

October 29, 2010







Masquerading Pets



In the middle of the Fantasy Fest week there is a great event that is actually suitable for children and families and is one of the keystone events that in many places would be a stand-alone Halloween event, the Pet Masquerade. While there are many party animals roaming the streets of Key West during the week, this event features actual animals (and their guardians) dressed to the hilt in crazy costumes.







This wacky event is hosted each year on the beautiful grounds of the Casa Marina resort and starts early enough that there is no issue that children and families can attend and still get home at a decent hour. Pets of all sorts take the oceanfront stage at the Casa, this year included squawking birds, meowing cats and barking dogs all competing before a huge enthusiastic crowd.



Jeremy

The setting was extra perfect as in addition to the beautiful sunset over the Casa beach, a rainbow appeared as a perfect counterpart in the sky opposite the sunset. The night was just about perfect, as thankfully every evening has been so far.







The costumes can be elaborate and some entries even feature elaborate production numbers to help win over the judges. There are a number of categories such as the pet/owner look-a-like competition and many prizes are awarded. It really is a very entertaining event.





As elaborate as many of the costumes are, some are actually quite simple and yet still effective. My friend (and fellow Purdue alum) Jim enters each year with a homemade costume for his dog that has a budget of $10.00 or less- which forces an emphasis on creativity. His entry this year poked fun at the infamous Key West sign guy- who spends the better part of each day on the sign of the road holding up signs that disparage homosexuals and just about anyone else. Jim’s Key West Sign Dog had a sign proclaiming “God Hates Cats” and for the second straight year, his entry was on the front page of the Key West Citizen the day after the event.





We have many friends who either enter or are on hand to watch the fun and it is a nice, comparatively low key event to help break up the madness that most of the other events. Things build quickly after the Pet Masquerade as the Fantasy Fest schedule gets more and more crowded and the pace accelerates.

Fantasy Insanity

October 28, 2010









Fantasy Insanity

The theme for this year’s Fantasy Fest is “Habitat for Insanity” which personally I am not a big fan of, but then I rarely like the theme and most themes hardly seem relevant to much of what goes on during the week anyway. Whatever the theme, the term insanity can be used to describe much of what you see here. Of course it is not all crazy, the event itself and many of the events that go along with it raise a ton of money for local charities. From the non-profit run beer booths to specific events for charity, there is a ton of money to be made and we attended a couple of fundraising parties this week.

Key West Mayor Craig Cates & wife Cheryl





The first was held Monday night at La Te Da and was a benefit for Womankind that was a huge success. The bra auction involved hand decorated bras being auctioned off to a sold out packed house with all the money going to Womankind.







All sorts of local artists created intricate and bedazzling bras including Kathy who decorated one that was included among the 75 or so entries in the auction. The event was really amazing as the bras were modeled by local models then auctioned off one at a time most of the sold in the $150-200 range but a few generated bidding wars including one that went for more than $1000.00. It was a very good night for Womankind and a lot of fun to see.



Michael





The other fundraiser was the 9th annual Red Party at Fogarty’s. The event charges an admission fee that goes for students at Key West schools and it is another hugely successful event. So much so that it has really become a victim of its own success. The event is so crowded that it is often difficult to even move and for me at least, it is almost too much. I tend to make a quick pass through to say hello to friends and then head out onto Duval Street which is also teeming with revelers.

Hickory Hoosiers





This year Fogarty’s took steps to alleviate the crowds by expanding the party across Caroline Street which was blocked off and added to the bar space. It really helped with the congestion issue inside the party, which even featured live music this year.







Of course the real action is out along Duval Street and it was in full swing and packed Wednesday night as much of the street was already blocked off and the throngs of costumed, body painted and nearly naked people mingled to see and be seen. It was not as raunchy as last year, at least not so far, but there were pretty of the “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” variety.

Eric & Jacqueline





The crowds and anticipation are growing as the weekend gets closer and we will once again be at the heart of it all.

Steve & Sherry

Tu Tu Tuesday

October 27, 2010





Kathy, Joanna & Jim



Tu Tu Tuesday

Fantasy Fest is a week-long series of events and parties and each year there seem to be tons of new additions as every bar tries to get in on the action. What was once a slow build-up as the week progressed is now pretty much full on for the entire week leading up to Saturday’s culmination. Many of the new events seem sort of crass or thrown together quickly in an effort to cash in, but every so often something comes along that is successful as well as fun. The Zombie ride was one of those and another great example was held Tuesday night with the return of the TuTu.



Kathy & Margit

Kelly

Last year’s initial Tu Tu Tuesday party was held at Martin’s and was great though somewhat confined by the smaller space at that location. In planning for the return of the Tu Tu, it quickly became evident that the party was going to need a much larger space as the positive word of mouth caused an explosion of interest.



Marques & Erin



Kathy

Tu tus sold out all over town, wearing a Tu tu was mandatory for admission, and the excitement among potential attendees created a huge buzz leading up to the party which had to be moved to the large space upstairs at Mango’s restaurant to contain the crowd.



Kathy & Hannah



The party started with a Tut u promenade from the Porch bar down Duval Street to Mango’s and the party vibe accelerated as soon as people started arriving on scene. The admission price was cheap- two dollars naturally, and people quickly started packing the place. Even with a number of competing parties, the Plaid Party at Captain Tony’s and the Green Party at Fogarty’s for example, this party was the place to be on Tuesday.









Unlike many of the other parties that are filled with mostly tourists, the vast majority of the packed house was filled with a great cross section of locals, all celebrating the creative spirit and good natured fun that was once far more common during Fantasy Fest. The music was great and kept the large dance floor full of dancers and the large space provided plenty of space for hanging out and it was easy fairly easy to get reasonably priced drinks.





Shawna & Jim

It reminded me of the sort of awesome parties of Fantasy Fests long past and Kathy & I had a great, great time. So far this has been one of the most enjoyable Fantasy Fests ever and it still has a long way to go. I think the secret is to attend small more personal events rather than the mayhem that is lower Duval where raunchy naked people who have no business not being covered run amok.

Michael & Kathy

Elizabeth & Michael

We stayed pretty late, but the party was still going strong when we made our way home, it was another great night and we want to thank Chris for once again throwing a great party.

Erika & Kathy