You might dress as an intrepid galactic pilot steering a silver starship. A cooler-than-cool hip-hop star wearing ’90s neon garb. Or an orange-wigged carnival clown guiding offbeat funhouse antics.
A group depicting an offbeat Kentucky Derby for unicorns performs on Duval Street during the 2023 Fantasy Fest Parade in Key West. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)
Yes, it’s time for Key West’s internationally renowned Fantasy Fest, a costuming and masking festival set for Friday, Oct. 18, through Sunday, Oct. 27. And this year’s theme is “It’s a 90s Neon Cosmic Carnival!” with merriment evoking everything from the era’s goth trend to television’s Seinfeld” and “Friends,” space exploration, carnival craziness and the Y2K frenzy that dominated the decade’s end.
Each year, thousands of people descend upon the island for the festivities, eager to don exotic masks and costumes and escape their real-world cares in 10 days of revelry — revelry that includes lavish costume competitions, street fairs, masquerade parties, unparalleled creativity and the dazzling Key West Fantasy Fest Parade.
Fantasy Fest’s annual theme provides continual inspiration for costumes both funky and fabulous. This year, elements might recall ’90s favorites like the spellbinding “Harry Potter” book series and blockbuster “Titanic” film, or the decade’s neon-bright color palette and musical stylings.
The excitement begins Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18 and 19, with the Goombay Festival in historic Bahama Village. Honoring Key West’s Caribbean roots, Goombay is a family-friendly street party that combines nonstop musical entertainment, arts and crafts, island-style food and an exuberant Junkanoo parade.
Golden Labradoodle Anna May takes a “bubble bath” watched by “spa attendant” Peg Lincoln during the 2023 Fantasy Fest Pet Masquerade. (Photo by Rob O’Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)
Subsequent days and nights feature events such as the Pet Masquerade, where the fur flies as pets and their owners vie for costume prizes. You’ll find people dressed as animals and animals dressed as people during this family-style competition set for the night of Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Standouts in last year’s masquerade included a canine “Trojan horse” containing a doggy duo in Roman soldier uniforms, two “sailor” pugs with their human captain, and a family staging a “Smokey the Bear” skit with a 13-year-old Newfoundland portraying Smokey.
And don’t miss the Key West Business Guild’s glitzy Headdress Ball on Thursday, Oct. 24, hosted by renowned female impersonator Randy Roberts. The glamorous gathering draws entrants wearing elaborate masks and headgear, from the beautiful to the bizarre, plus entertainment from top local performers.
Plans call for the cosmic carnival to hit the streets Friday, Oct. 25, with a freewheeling Masquerade March of costumed characters. Marchers are encouraged to bring noisemakers and percussion instruments, and display their best ’90s neon finery to “light up” the cavalcade through part of Key West’s Old Town.
Notable participants in the 2023 march were a troupe portraying characters from the popular “Barbie” film, “flocks” of vividly costumed unicorns, and groups paying tribute to the late musical icon and former Key West resident Jimmy Buffett.
Author and paranormal specialist David Sloan and the spirit of the famed “Robert the Doll” are to lead the 2024 Key West Fantasy Fest Parade. (Photo by Carol Tedesco, FantasyFest.com)
Revelers can also immerse themselves in events including the family-friendly Zombie Bike Ride, two-night Costume Promenade in the designated Fantasy Zone, “Tutu Tuesday” celebrations, Fantasy Market in the Key West Historic Seaport, disco dance party, musical tributes to legendary entertainers and a “Living Art” competition for painted bodies.
The festival spirit will be most spectacular, however, during the Key West Fantasy Fest Parade on the night of Saturday, Oct. 26, when brilliantly conceived floats travel down Key West’s main thoroughfare before tens of thousands of cheering spectators. Walking groups dressed in bright robes and feathers add fire and color to the procession.
This year’s parade is to be led by the spirit of “Robert the Doll,” a 3-foot-tall sailor doll with a century-long history of eerie exploits. Once the companion of a Key West artist, the actual doll now resides in a glass case at Fort East Martello Museum — but his presence is to loom large as the procession’s co-grand marshal with David Sloan, a paranormal expert and author who’s widely regarded as the world’s foremost authority on Robert.
Want a full schedule of Fantasy Fest’s fabulous events? Just click here.
