The 10-day Fantasy Fest costuming and masking celebration ended late Sunday in Key West, after some 100 events with an increased emphasis on imaginative costuming and decreases in past years’ decadence.
Tens of thousands of spectators thronged the subtropical island’s historic downtown Saturday night for Fantasy Fest’s highlight event, a parade featuring over 40 motorized floats and costumed marching groups.
Illustrating the festival’s move toward a more PG-rated focus, its 2023 theme was “Uniforms and Unicorns … 200 Years of Sailing into Fantasy,” in salute to the Florida Keys’ bicentennial and that of the U.S. Navy’s presence in Key West.
“The parade really demonstrated the festival’s direction away from decadent aspects and into good fun and off-the-charts creativity,” said Fantasy Fest director Nadene Grossman Orr. “It feels like Fantasy Fest has entered a new era of creative expression.”
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— Key West Fantasy Fest Parade dancers
Dancers in lavish rainbow-colored attire perform on Duval Street Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Key West, Fla., during the Fantasy Fest Parade. The procession of floats and colorfully garbed marchers highlighted the 10-day Fantasy Fest costuming and masking festival that ends Sunday, Oct. 29. The entry was named the parade’s best walking group.
Andy Newman / Florida Keys News Bureau
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Caribbean dancers prance down Duval Street Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Key West, Fla., during the Fantasy Fest Parade. The procession of floats and costumed marchers highlighted the subtropical island’s annual 10-day Fantasy Fest costuming and masking festival that concludes Sunday, Oct. 29.
Andy Newman / Florida Keys News Bureau
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— Key West Fantasy Fest Barbie
A man costumed as a Ken doll from the blockbuster film “Barbie” marches in the Fantasy Fest Parade Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Key West, Fla. The procession of floats and colorfully garbed walking groups highlighted the 10-day Fantasy Fest costuming and masking festival that ends Sunday, Oct. 29.
Andy Newman / Florida Keys News Bureau
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— Key West Fantasy Fest Kentucky Derby
A group depicting an offbeat Kentucky Derby for unicorns performs on Duval Street Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, during the Fantasy Fest Parade in Key West, Fla. The elaborate procession of floats and costumed marchers highlighted the 10-day Fantasy Fest costuming and masking festival, themed “Uniforms and Unicorns,” that ends Sunday, Oct. 29. The Derby takeoff, produced by a group dubbed the Lower Keys Fluffers, was named the parade’s best overall entry.
Andy Newman / Florida Keys News Bureau
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A float depicting a giant unicorn proceeds along Duval Street Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Key West, Fla., during the Fantasy Fest Parade. The parade highlighted the subtropical island’s 10-day Fantasy Fest costuming and masking celebration, themed “Uniforms and Unicorns,” that ends Sunday, Oct. 29. Featuring more than 40 floats and colorful marching groups, it drew tens of thousands of spectators to Key West’s historic downtown.
Andy Newman / Florida Keys News Bureau
Parade standouts included a uniformed group with huge blue wings depicting the Navy’s elite Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron, dancers in unicorn headdresses performing intrepid acrobatic feats, and an elaborate float and marching ensemble portraying a Kentucky Derby for unicorns.
Among other notable entries were a “litter” of elaborately costumed cats and a troupe dressed as characters from the blockbuster film “Barbie.”
Florida Keys tourism officials said Fantasy Fest brings approximately $30 million in annual revenues to the island chain and provides important fundraising opportunities for local nonprofit organizations. The 2023 campaign for festival king and queen raised more than $587,000 for the Florida Keys SPCA.
Fantasy Fest 2024, themed “It’s a 90’s Neon Cosmic Carnivale!,” is scheduled Oct. 18-27.