TuTu Tuesday III

November 5, 2011



Kathy

Susan & Bruce



TuTu Tuesday III

The past few years there has been something of a shift with Fantasy fest expanding earlier and earlier in the week and some of the best events and parties happening well before the traditional Friday/Saturday slots that have grown into massive happenings. The shift to early week parties allows many locals who work during the busy fantasy fest weekend to enjoy parties of their own and still be available to reap the financial windfall that they get by working the busy days.

Kathy & Hannah



Joel & Erika

What this has meant is that the best locals parties are held early and that is certainly the case with the spectacular third edition of TuTu Tuesday. The Tutu party has grown from humble beginnings at the small Martin’s restaurant two years ago, to the much larger expanded version last year upstairs at Mango’s to the massive party that took over the entire Mango’s complex and catered to literally hundreds of happy partiers.

KP & Kathy

Joanie & Chad



Eileen & Graf

To say that this was the best party of Fantasy Fest doesn’t really do the party justice, it was one of the best parties I have attended in Key West ever, for any reason. It was just a spectacular, fun amazing celebration hosted and organized by some of the most creative and fun people in Key West and attended by the more locals and people we knew than any other event.



Erin & Chris



Natalia & Kyla

The only stipulation to attend the Tutu party is that to enter you must be attired in a tutu. No exceptions. This leads to the sillyness of many uncomfortable men donning tutus with varying degrees of confidence. It doesn’t bother me in the least, but some are a little hesitant, making it all the more fun when they actually break down and put one on. It matters not because the party is so good, anyone that is too self conscious to wear one would probably not be much fun anyway.

Swan Dance



Tom & Marky



Kathy went all out again, dressing up as the Black Swan character from the recent movie of the same name. It proved to be a popular choice as there were at least four other black swans and one white swan at the party. She did a nice job and looked fantastic.

Breanne



The party commenced at seven at the Porch, where a large group of Tutu wearing revelers gathered before a huge march down Duval Street to Mango’s for the actual start of the party at eight. Once there it was two levels of dancing, drinks flowing freely and the one of the best collections of locals ever assembled. The vibe was fantastic as everyone was in an excellent mood and having a great time.



Jim

Steve

We stayed until around 1:30 AM and as we were leaving there was a whole new group of late night partiers lined up waiting to get in so the party evolved and changed as the night went on. After the Zombie ride and the Tutu party – they could have just canceled the rest of Fantasy fest and we still would have had an amazing year. The good news was that it was just getting started.

Scott & Wendy

Nancy & Bob

Salacious Sideshow

November 3, 2011











Salacious Sideshow

I have to admit that it is difficult to write this entry. The unfortunate passing of my friend Matt Elliott and traveling to Indianapolis for his memorial have thrown me off in many ways, including even attempting to keep up with my blog posting. I have fallen tremendously behind and now find it difficult to go back and pick up the pieces and even try to get back to any sense of normalcy.









I considered how to move forward and decided that perhaps the most sensible thing is to go back and try to pick up chronologically and see how long it may take me to catch up. The issue that I have is that things have changed so much for me and it is tough to try and go back and recall events that were fun and full of life before Matt passed, when I still feel so wrecked emotionally. But I also know that life inevitably goes forward and so I will try to do justice to those events before and after my heart was stricken with some sort of adequate description.









Thinking back to early in the week of Fantasy Fest seems like a million years ago, but on that Monday evening, Kathy & I took in the special Fantasy Fest edition by the wonderful local burlesque group, Key West burlesque. The condensed one hour show, the Salacious Sideshow, was performed only three times and we caught the closing night performance. All of the shows were held in the Waterfront Playhouse, which is a somewhat larger and seemingly more professional venue than the troupe is used to. They took to it like the proverbial duck to water though and delivered a wonderful show with a circus theme that featured a number of their most talented and versatile performers.









The fantastic sets were in the style of the old school circus sideshows and the circus theme translated well to their wacky style and we enjoyed the show a great deal. They have a number of elaborate performances scheduled the remainder of this season, the next being the epic Fantazimo, which will be held December 8-10 and 15-16 at The Studios of Key West. Get your tickets now as these shows are likely to sell out and you don’t want to miss out.