Fantasy Fest 2010

Share

Florida Keys

Big Pine Key

Marathon

Islamorada

Keys Largo

Key West

Fantasy Fest

Plan your Florida Keys vacation here at Upcoming Keys Events. Explore the Keys travel, hotels, attractions and activities before your visit here to our American Caribbean.

About the Fest

Traditionally October has been a slow time for tourism in the Keys, but since its inception, Fantasy Fest® has continually boosted the economy by filling up hotel rooms and inundating local businesses, restaurants, and bars during this time period.

The tremendous influx of visitors during the ten days of the festival sustains the local economy until the holiday season begins.

Fantasy Fest is committed to extending the time that visitors stay by encouraging the creation of diverse events throughout the entire ten days.

The opportunity to show off the imaginative and resourceful spirit that defines the Keys excites participants as well as the thousands that are drawn to the Keys.

History

The first Fantasy Fest was held in 1979 when two local businessmen, Tony Falcone and the late Bill Conkle, organized a party to stimulate business.

The event has escalated to a ten day celebration that includes balls, a parade, costume competitions, AIDS fundraisers, body painting, drag queen contests, costume parties, alcohol, and pet and neighborhood parades for the whole family. Fantasy

Fest has grown to rival New Orleans' Mardi Gras as an event drawing out-of-towners.

The highlight of Fantasy Fest is its parade featuring humorous floats, including one carrying the annually elected Conch King and Queen. In recent years, attendance at Fantasy Fest has surpassed 100,000 people, or more than three times the population of the island itself. The Conch King and Conch Queen are symbolic titles bestowed upon two residents of Key West, Florida selected annually during the course of Fantasy Fest.

The tradition stems from the longstanding practice of locals to refer to themselves as Conchs, and ironically to the island as though it were a separate country called the Conch Republic.

The title is also a play on the name of the Queen Conch, once very common in the waters around Key West. Candidates become the Fantasy Fest King and Queen in a fundraising competition to benefit AIDS Help, an organization devoted to assisting individuals afflicted with HIV.

The King and Queen candidates who raise the most money during the competition period, which can last for several months, are crowned the King and Queen of Fantasy Fest in a gala ceremony.

In 2007, candidates for Fantasy Fest King and Queen raised over $200,000 USD for AIDS Help, and since 1989, coronation contests have collected almost $2.6 million.[1][edit]Events

Goombay - a two day street party held in Key West's Bahama Village neighborhood.

It is named after the goatskin drums that generate the party's rhythms and celebrates the heritage of Key West's large Bahamian population with food, art and a lot of dancing.[2]The Royal Coronation Ball - where the Conch King and Queen are crowned.The annual Headdress Ball.The Pet Masquerade - a costume contest for pets.Pretenders in Paradise - an annual costume contest.The Masquerade March - a daytime procession through the streets of Key West.The Street Fair.The Fantasy Fest parade - the culmination of the festival.

Street Fair

Join us for Duval Street's mile-long eater-tainment extravaganza, featuring arts and crafts, food vendors, lively libations and costumed frivolity. The Street Fair is on Friday, October 29 from 12 pm - 10 pm.

Pretenders in Paradise will be held on Thursday, October 28, 2010 under the stars at 8 pm, at the Pier House Resort 7 Caribbean Spa. Join us for this legendary costume competition with $10,000 in cash and prizes. Combining extraordinary creative genius and performing energy, this year's event promises to be insanely entertaining!

We invite you to sinkyour teeth into thisyear’s wildly coursing10-day vein of laughterand fun. We hope you willhave buckets of good timesat the 40-plus events thesouthernmost city has preparedfor you.

We think youwill leave exhausted andexhilarated, twirling yourSnidely Whiplash handlebarmoustache and plotting nextyear’s costume.

Look for their OfficialFantasy Fest Sponsor postersand let them know youappreciate their support.Many of our major sponsorsreturn year after year.

Captain Morgan is back astitle sponsor for the parade;Fairvilla MegaStore heads upthe Masquerade March onceagain and Eagle Brands isback bringing you Bud Light,the official Fantasy Fest beer.Coca Cola is once again theofficial festival cola; Dasani isthe official water, Big Peckeris the official wine andMonster is the official energydrink.

Our events this yearinclude the all-time favorites:the WKEY Pet Masqueradeand Parade, Pretenders inParadise costume competitionat the Pier House Resort,The Sloppy Joe’s Toga Partyand Hog’s Breath Saloon’sBeach Party and a longlist of others from Friday,Oct. 23 to Children’s Day,the Transylvania Brunch,and The Fat Lady Sings TeaDance on Sunday, Nov 1.

The fun is more fun whenyou are in costume. Merchantsin our communityhave stocked lotsof sexy corsets, swirlingcapes and bloody vampireteeth, so indulge yourimagination.

Once you aretransformed, consider thecompetitions throughoutthe week. They run thegamut from informal toprofessional. I hear that theview from the stage is spectacular.

Many of our events, aswell as sales from some ofour street fair booths, benefitlocal charities.

The campaignsfor King and Queenof Fantasy Fest raise recordrevenues for the Key WestAIDS Help organization. Sowhile you are enjoying yourself,know that these eventsare also generously helpingcaring groups on our island,making Fantasy Fest a partywith heart and soul.

Habitat for Insani10/21 - 10/31 Fantasy Fest 2010 !!! The insane costuming continues as Fantasy Fest announces the theme for Pretenders in Paradise 2010 as “Predators and Prey Come out to Play.” Key West Key West is just a short and picturesque drive from Miami, Florida down US-1. The Florida Keys hold a lot of treasures for the traveler. Key Largo, The Dive Capital of the World. A dream vacation, yes, Paradise Has Never Been Easier to Reach The Islands of Marathon in the Florida Keys is home to some of the world's best fishing, diving, and snorkeling as well as wedding and seafood dining destinations! Village of Islands of Islamorada is situated between the saltwater wilderness of Everglades National Park in one direction and North America's only coral barrier reef and the deep blue waters of the Florida Straits in the other. Big PineKey and the Lower Keys The Lower Keys begin where the Florida Keys island chain takes a graceful westerly turn toward the sunset, shortly after the famous Seven Mile Bridge. It is a quiet region of small resorts, down-home restaurants, single-family homes, untrammeled wildernesses and rich history.

<< Back - Marathon | Next - Key West >>