Fantasy Fest Bar Masquerade

 

November 1. 2021

Fantasy Fest Bar Masquerade

Saturday of Fantasy Fest week has been for years, the culminating event of the week. The annual Fantasy Fest parade has been held for every year that Fantasy Fest has been held until this year. For the first time ever the main event of the week was not going to be held and while there have been all manner of parties and events all week, no one knew exactly to expect without the big parade.

Fantasy Fest organizers attempted to fill the void with an event called the Fantasy Fest Bar Masquerade starting in the evening at the Conch Farm. Costumed revelers would meet at the Conch Farm and pick up a drink passport and then travel on a bar stroll at their own pace through the evening visiting ten bars and getting a free drink with their passport checked at each stop.

Sponsored by Dulce Vita Tequila and Captain Morgan Rum, the event featured hundreds of people participating and seemed like a pretty good event, though it did not really come close to what has traditionally been the closing of the festival. The participants had a good time and eventually would blend into the large crowd already on hand on Duval Street.

Earlier in the afternoon, I was at the Southernmost Beach Resort for a concert on the beach by Miami based fusion-funk band Suenalo.  Sadly, there was not a big crowd for the show, which is a shame because Suenalo is at the forefront of what has been described as “Tropical Bohemia” music. The music is a cool mix of Afro-Cuban, Latin, R&B and hip hop,

In my opinion, Suenalo is at the top of the musical movement that has been springing up in Miami and includes bands like Afrobeta, the SPAM Allstars and others. I watched a full set of the band before heading over to the Conch Farm for the start of the Bar Masquerade. I am excited that the band will be back in Key West next month to play at a fundraiser for the SPCA.

Just before sunset, I met my friend Christine Fifer and a large group of locals who were once again celebrating Fantasy Fest in their own creative local method. Their theme was of Ravens and they wanted to get some photos of their group and individuals before they marched from the Key West Cemetery where the photos were to be taken.

Christine and her group were not only creative and fun, but they were also respectful at the cemetery and were careful to not stand on any crypts or graves and asked not to show any names of those buried in the cemetery in the photos but having the cemetery serving only as a backdrop for their photos. The group then did their own little parade, marching from the cemetery downtown to Duval Street where they joined the masses that were already on hand.

The crowds downtown were probably down somewhat from previous Fantasy Fest Saturday nights but it was still pretty crowded and the street was closed all the way down to Truman for the first time all week. It seemed pretty similar to the average post-parade crowd, except there had been no parade.