Pet Masquerade

October 23, 2018











Pet Masquerade

Most of Fantasy Fest week is geared for an adult audience, there are only a few selected events that could be considered family friendly, Goombay, the Zombie Bike Ride, perhaps the Masquerade March and of course Children’s Day on the final Sunday of the week. But the event that really draws tons of families and their furry family members is the long-running Pet Masquerade.

Nadene, Trevor, Graf and Eileen







For years the event has been a mid-week, family friendly respite from the heavy partying atmosphere that most of the week brings. Long held at the Casa Marina resort, the event moved this year for the first time ever to the much larger and easily accessible Key West Amphitheater. In doing so it seemed to attract a record number of attendees as a few thousand people of all ages gathered to watch this year’s competition.

Rude Girl







The event is free to watch, which is another plus, and all vendor sales and registration fees from the many participants all go to raising money for the non-profit Friends of Animals. This year there were a myriad of pets competing in a number of categories including a children’s category, pet/owner look-a-like, most exotic and more.







There were tons of dogs and a good number of cats and some more exotic pets including a squirrel, a hedgehog, a sugar glider, a hermit crab and some birds for good measure. All were decked out in silly costumes that their owners created for them. Some were obviously more keen than others about wearing the outfits, but it is all in good fun and the safety and care of the animals is foremost in the minds of the organizers.

Jeanne









Contestants in the madcap masquerade were encouraged to design their costumes around the 2018 Fantasy Fest theme of “Oh … The Games We Play!” — inspired by amusements ranging from traditional board games to furry role-playing adventures. People and their pets were costumed as Angry Birds, Donkey Kong and his jungle clan, canine and feline Monopoly tokens or even runaways from the Nintendogs universe.









Entries traditionally range from simple pet-and-person pairings to exuberant ensembles featuring multiple animals and humans performing offbeat skits or musical numbers. A panel of judges evaluates the entries, awarding prizes for the top junior contestants, most exotic attire, best theme adaptation, best pet-owner look-alikes and overall winner.









The more elaborate the production, the more chaotic the scene as at times there were literally a pack of dogs and owners on stage, these skits are fun, but I prefer the simpler style of a single pet or two maybe with their owners in tow. The event is a pain to photograph, animals and children make the worst models, but it is so fun to see that it hardly matters to me at least.







Steve

Held mid-week of Fantasy Fest, completing the Pet Masquerade and the many, many other Wednesday night events means passing the halfway point of Fantasy Fest and this year continues to excel. Kudos to everyone involved in the Pet Masquerade for another great year.