We’re halfway through January and the weather here in Key West has been glorious. After a couple of cool days, we’re back into the 70’s — with shorts, T- shirts, and sandals the appropriate winter wear.

Even Key West canines, like "blog dog" Giulio shown here, have been enjoying the warm January weather. (Photo by Steve Smith)

We do dress up a bit. On occasion you’ll see us in jeans, cargo shorts, and shirts with collars — and I recently sported my tux jacket with a nice pair of shorts. When you pack for a visit here, remember that you won’t need dinner jackets, ties, or “spit-shined” shoes.

(And if you see the weather in mainland Florida looking cold, remember that Key West is 156 miles southwest of the mainland and we rarely share the same weather — except for the fabled sunshine!)

Key West is known for great eating, as I wrote in my November blog. One of the great upcoming “foodie” events is the third annual Key West Food and Wine Festival, which starts Thursday, Jan. 26, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 29.

The Key West Food and Wine Festival offers innovative cuisine, fine wines and unique island experiences.

This gastronomic celebration offers creative cuisine, premium wines, and unique events only found on our subtropical island.

Kick off the weekend without your shoes or sandals as you join friends for a beach party like nothing you’ve ever attended before. Then play at the historic Key West Aquarium while you sample fine wines and savor delicacies from land and sea. You might spot mermaids, sharks, turtles or indigenous tarpon as you enjoy entertainment by Fancy Pants Entertainment during the “Turtles and Sharks and Mermaids, OH MY! Grand Tasting.”

Chocoholics will experience true bliss when fine organic chocolates are paired with perfect wines during the “Life is a Glass of Chocolate” event at the Lush Bar located at the Green Pineapple on Duval Street.

On Saturday evening, the island’s renowned Duval Street becomes an appetizing avenue during “Duval Uncorked 2012.” The neighborhood’s finest restaurants will be serving samplings of their signature dishes, while the chic boutiques, funky shops and galleries offer wines and hors d’oeuvres. As you stroll you’ll meet Key West’s many personalities and performance artists, and see stellar spectacles.

Stone crabs are a delectable, and renewable, Florida Keys seafood specialty. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Each day, the festival schedule offers many events, venues, tastes, and experiences to choose among. Take the weekend to stroll the neighborhoods from Bahama Village to the Historic Seaport. Other events include cooking contests, food and wine seminars, and outdoor markets.

Tickets and/or festival VIP passes are needed for the events and are available at the Key West Food and Wine Festival website. There you’ll also find information about participating lodging and comments from previous years’ guests.

If you can’t make the Key West festival, the end of January brings the third annual Stone Crab & Seafood Festival in Key Largo.  Set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28-29, it’s a great family event featuring local seafood, live musical entertainment, cooking demonstrations, and fun for the kids too!  Key Largo is a short trip from mainland Florida down the recently completed 18-Mile Stretch.

So tantalize your palate, and have the time of your life at one or both of these fabulous festivals. After all, there’s nothing more delicious than the flavors of the Florida Keys.

Topics: Festivals, Food, Key Largo, Key West, LGBT, Local Color

The countdown is on and 2011 will soon be part of our memories of good times shared — and we’ll be looking forward to the adventures 2012 will bring us!  The Mayan prophesies might say there’s just a year left until the world’s demise, but you’d never know it, given all the upcoming events and activities in Key West.

"Forbidden Broadway" graces the Red Barn's stage through mid-January. (Photo courtesy of the Red Barn Theatre)

For example, all our theaters are up and running with fabulous seasons. Among them is one built as a carriage house in 1829. Used on and off during the 1940s by the Key West Players, and operated in the 1970s as a venue for puppet shows and piano concerts by renowned pianist Yehuda Guttman, in 1980 it became the now-beloved Red Barn Theatre, located at 319 Duval St.

Headlining the Barn’s 32nd season is a stroll through “Broadway in Paradise” — the Tony Award-winning show “Forbidden Broadway” runs through mid-January.  Featuring one of my favorite Keys performers, Marjorie Paul-Shook, this musical spins through 75 costume changes.  Following “Forbidden” is the 2010 award winner “Red.” Tickets to this intimate theater sell out quickly, so it’s best to plan ahead to avoid being disappointed.

A five-minute walk brings you to the 150-seat Waterfront Playhouse on Mallory Square. The theater’s founding Key West Players have been entertaining the island for more than 70 years. I remember the days when the playhouse had no air conditioning and uncomfortable seats, but (as always!) darn good theater.

The Waterfront Playhouse is wowing crowds with "August: Osage County." (Photo courtesy of the Waterfront Playhouse)

The stage has been graced by some of Key West’s best talents including former Fantasy Fest kings Tom Luna and George Murphy.  Kelly McGillis, Charles Busch, Terrance McNally, Israel Horowitz and Carl Hiaasen are among the luminaries that have performed there.

This season opened with the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award Best Play winner “August:  Osage County,” a dark comedy that transforms a family gathering into a mélange of sex, secrets, and really inappropriate behavior.  It’s said to be one of the best shows ever at the Waterfront, so watch a brief video of “August” and make your plans now to see this “bitch of a family reunion.”

The Tennessee Williams Theatre, located on the campus of Florida Keys Community College, brings monthly performances to its stage giving us a chance to see big-city entertainment in our island setting.  Built in the 1960s with Tennessee Williams himself assisting in the groundbreaking, the theatre is operated by the Performing Arts Centers for Key West/Tennessee Williams Theatre.

Blog author Steve Smith wishes everyone a Happy New Year ... no matter WHAT the Mayan prophesies say!

The 2012 season kicks off with The Midtown Men, starring four from the original cast of “Jersey Boys.”  On Feb. 3, you can join them in celebrating the sounds of the 1960s at their one-of-a-kind concert.  Other upcoming performances include Monty Python’s “SPAMALOT” and the world-renowned Pilobolus.

As well as great theater, we celebrate local seafood as one of our treasures. On Jan. 14, join us at the Florida Keys Seafood Festival in Bayview Park. We feast on fried fish, grilled Florida lobster, stone crab claws, Key West pink shrimp, conch fritters, and smoked fish dip.

The event features live entertainment and is a social gathering with members of our One Human Family.  Stake out a comfortable spot to spread out, because at 6 p.m. the Keys’ own Howard Livingston & the Mile Marker 24 Band take the stage for a free two-hour concert under the stars.

If you believe in a popular interpretation of Mayan prophesies, we’ve got just one year left until the world ends on Dec. 21, 2012.  Make your plans to visit us in Key West soon; in fact, if you can’t get here beforehand, come down Dec. 20 — I’m sure we’ll have a special event taking place!

Topics: Arts, Events, Festivals, Food, Highlights, Key West, LGBT

Once upon a time (way back in 1982), the Florida Keys & Key West seceded from the union and formed the independent Conch Republic. This wasn’t a joke. In fact, it was a last-ditch attempt to get the U.S. Border Patrol to remove a blockade it had erected at the head of the Keys — where agents searched outgoing cars for unspecified contraband, tied up traffic interminably, and nearly annihilated the Keys’ fledgling tourist trade.

Even NBC "Today" weatherman Al Roker (left) and anchor Matt Lauer are fans of the Conch Republic. Here they display the republic's flag during a special broadcast from Key West. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

So, like any intelligent population blessed with a creative mindset and lively sense of humor, some good citizens and friends of the Keys came up with an offbeat, attention-getting response: they staged the island chain’s secession from the mother country.

It was a stunningly effective solution to the problem. Following the international media hoopla generated by the gutsy action, the blockade was quietly dismantled, never to return.

The concept of the Conch Republic, however, has far outlived the incident that spawned it. While Keys citizens are technically still Americans, today Conch Republic flags and passports are common — and the secession’s anniversary is celebrated each year with a fun-filled festival.

The concept of the Conch Republic appeals to the independent, nonconformist spirit of Keys residents (and those who dream of becoming residents). And recently, one of the republic’s founding fathers discovered that it also appealed to a citizenry on the other side of the world.

Intrepid traveler Stuart Newman discovered a Conch Republic-like country in faraway New Zealand.

While he was in New Zealand representing the Florida Keys & Key West at the annual Society of American Travel Writers convention, honorary Conch Republican Stuart Newman took time off to explore the countryside. Driving along the Lost World Highway, he encountered the “Republic of Whangamomona.”

Here, in Stuart’s own words, is the tale of his remarkable discovery.

Whangamomona, NZ — Halfway around the world from the Florida Keys, residents of tiny town on New Zealand’s North Island, arguably inspired by Key West’s 1982 Conch Republic rebellion, seven years later seceded and formed the “Republic of Whangamomona.”

In 1989, dissatisfied with a series of governmental redistricting changes, the elder gurus of the community of less than 180 gathered at the pub of the local six-room hotel/restaurant — and declared Whangamomona to be an independent republic.

The republic of Whamgamomona is governed from this unassuming hotel. (Photo by Stuart Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Located in New Zealand’s Manawatu-Wanganui region, Whangamomona is accessible via the Lost World Highway (NZ 43) — not exactly the caliber of the Keys’ U.S. 1, since it boasts a 90-mile stretch without a service station.

Whangamomona’s first president, Ian Kjestrup, was elected after his name was placed on the ballot without his knowledge.

Kjestrup served from 1989 through 1999 and was succeeded by Billy Gumboot, a goat (!), who won by eating the ballots of the other candidates. Gumboot served 18 months before being succeeded by a poodle named Tai, who served from 2003 to 2004 and retired following a reported assassination attempt.

The present chief of state, garage owner Murt “Murtle the Turtle” Kennard, won out over founding father Kjestrup and a cross-dresser named Miriam (sound familiar?) by a single vote. He was overwhelmingly re-elected this year.

Like the Conch Republic, Whangamomona has a population of indigenous poultry.

Today, the tiny “country” of Whangamomona is replete with Conch Republic-type passports and official T-shirts. Every other year in January (summer in New Zealand), the town celebrates Republic Day, which attracts thousands of visitors from throughout the North Island.

As Stuart discovered, clearly the citizens of Whangamomona share an irreverent mindset and good-spirited sense of fun with the denizens of the Conch Republic. Those attributes will take center stage in the Keys April 20-29, 2012, during the 30th annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration.

Why not come down for the festivities and declare your own independence?

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Festivals, Highlights, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Quirks, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Tis the season for holly, lights, trees, gifts, Christmas cards (yes, I still send them via snail mail), eggnog, and the never-ending round of holiday parties.  Our bars are dressed for the season, as are their entertainers.

in Key West, even the divas do double duty as Santa's helpers. (Photo by Larry Blackburn)

Sushi is at work sewing her gown for the 16th annual New Year’s Eve “red high heel” drop. On Dec. 31, we lower Sushi, 801 Bourbon Cabaret’s drag mother, in a six-foot red stiletto at the stroke of midnight from the balcony of the Bourbon Street Pub. As the shoe “drops” to ring in the New Year, thousands of spectators cheer from the street below while the air swirls with fairy dust and confetti. If you can’t be here, you can watch this live on Anderson Cooper’s CNN New Year’s Eve program.

Last evening the Equator Resort hosted the Key West Business Guild’s monthly membership mixer. Dressed in festive attire, we sported fun holiday antlers, flashing lights and mistletoe.

These days there are so many things to see and do in Key West — and an easy way to begin is to take a stroll along Front Street.

Sushi, a.k.a. Key West resident Gary Marion, stars in the "drag queen drop" that welcomes the New Year in Key West. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

A holiday party hosted by the Innkeepers Association kicked off the season at the Key West Art Center and Gallery on the popular street. Established more than 50 years ago, this institution provides a central spot for local artists to show and sell their works.

The center has sponsored the Key West Craft Show each January for the last 27 years. This two-day juried outdoor craft festival brings to the island more than 100 artisans who display and sell their creations along shaded Whitehead Street — and curving through the Presidential Gates into historic Truman Annex.

In addition, for 47 years, the center has sponsored the Old Island Days Art Festival each February. This is also a juried show that sets up on Whitehead Street, drawing stellar artists to display their beautiful creations.

And if you happen to be in town on the second Wednesday of any month, you can attend the center’s membership meetings, which feature a demonstration of art or sculpture, or lectures on art history or printing techniques.

Key West Craft Show attendees examine a lovely bowl by local artist Janis Childs. (Photo courtesy of the Key West Art Center)

Behind the Art Center is the Key West Aquarium. Built during the Great Depression in the 1930s, this was the first aquarium to use the open-air concept, allowing natural sunlight to illuminate the displays.

Admission in those early days was 15 cents for adults and 5 cents for children. The aquarium is still a bargain to visit and pass a couple of hours petting sharks and viewing stingrays and conchs. You’re permitted to hold some of the sea life for photos, and then watch the resident sharks being fed.

Next to the aquarium is the historic Custom House Museum. Built in 1891, this multi-storied building housed customs officials during the era when wrecking made Key West the richest city per capita in America. It also housed the post office and courthouse.

More recently, after the building was boarded up for years, the Key West Art & Historical Society undertook a nine-year, $9-million restoration project to bring it back to its original glory.

Seward Johnson's gigantic "American Gothic" figures stood outside the Custom House Museum until they were replaced by another pair of Johnson giants. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

There are rotating exhibitions in the museum, as well as one that showcases the woodcarvings of the late Key Wester Mario Sanchez. Intriguing life-sized (and much larger!) pieces by noted sculptor Seward Johnson can be found both inside and around the museum.

The museum’s most recent exhibit commemorates the upcoming 100th anniversary of the completion of the Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad, which carried passengers from mainland Florida throughout the Keys to Key West for the very first time.

If reading this makes you eager to visit Key West to see it for yourself, enter the Florida Keys Cyber-Train to Sunshine Contest to win a six-night vacation in the island chain. The competition is being held in conjunction with the Over-Sea Railroad anniversary celebration — just click here for all the information you need to enter.

Till next time … happy holidays to all of you!

Topics: Arts, Events, Festivals, History, Key West, LGBT

Fantasy Fest, themed “Aquatic Afrolic,” came to a close in Key West with the “Fat Lady Sings” tea dance at La Te Da. At this year’s festival, we were treated to elaborate headdresses, creative costuming, artistic body painting, hundreds of zombies promenading down Duval Street, and the Captain Morgan Fantasy Fest Parade through the streets of Old Town with more than 50 glittering floats and marching groups.

Costumers displayed stunning creativity at Fantasy Fest's Headdress Ball.

Many attendees this year enjoyed themselves so much that they’ve already booked their rooms for the 2012 festival, to be themed “A-Conch-Alypse!” and take place Oct. 19-28 — so start thinking about your costumes and booking your accommodations!

November slid in behind the festival, beginning with the 20th annual Parrot Heads in Paradise convention. Some 3,500 of singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett’s fans descended on the island with their colorful headgear, tropical shirts, flip flops, shorts and/or sundresses to dance in the streets of the island that inspired many of Jimmy’s classic songs.

In reality, Parrot Heads are a very charitable group who enjoy the music of their idol and focus on contributing to local and national charities. Since 2002, some 27,000 members of 237 Parrot Head chapters from three countries have raised more than $22.1 million dollars for charitable organizations — and collectively contributed nearly 2.7 million hours of community service.

"Parrot Heads" are flocking to Key West to celebrate the music of Jimmy Buffett and the Keys lifestyle it encourages. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Unfortunately, I’m missing the lively group since I’m at the opening of the 12th International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism in Palm Springs, California. Several hundred global leaders in gay and lesbian tourism are meeting to share ideas, network, and learn about LGBT travel trends garnered from a survey of more than 60,000 gays across North and South America.

We learned that LGBT/GLBT, gay, lesbian, partner, husband/wife, sexual orientation, and gender identity are widely accepted phrases when referring to our community; it is no longer accepted to consider us an “alternative” lifestyle or market, mention “sexual preference” or say “those people.” It’s somewhat taboo now to call our community “homosexuals” or “queers.”

There will be great discussions with this group of travel professionals — who may come from very rural areas, communities like Key West, or even countries that have much different cultural attitudes than we do in the Conch Republic.

On another note, if you’re into pirates, we’ll be hosting the annual Pirates in Paradise festival in a few short weeks. Starting Nov. 24, our island will be invaded by swashbucklers, wenches, and bold buccaneers — all in traditional seafaring attire.

Aspiring seafarers can experience sunset cruises on the “pirate vessel” Schooner Wolf during Pirates in Paradise. (Photo courtesy of the Schooner Wolf)

You can join their festivities at the Pirate Village & Market, dine with pirates and wenches at Thanksgiving’s “Thankstaken Pirates’ Holiday Party & Feast,” unleash your inner swashbuckler by competing in the “Most Buxom Wench & Bad Ass Pirate Contest” and much more. In addition, you can cruise the high seas on daily sunset sails on the Schooner Wolf with Admiral Finbar and the Pirates in Paradise crew.

Just before the pirates sail away at the festival’s end, we ready the island for Christmas with our annual Holiday Parade set for Dec. 3. You may think you’ve seen a Christmas parade, but you haven’t seen anything till you watch how we Key Westers strut our holiday cheer down Truman Avenue and Duval Street.

This is a family affair with Santa in a boat, drag queens and kids on floats and families lining the streets hoping for candy. (Yes, we throw tons of candy to the multitudes along the parade route.)

I’ll have more on the holidays next time!

Topics: Events, Festivals, Highlights, Key West, LGBT

The 10-day masking and costuming festival known as Fantasy Fest, running Oct. 21-30 this year, is internationally renowned for its outrageous, let-it-all-hang-out party atmosphere.

Artist Rick Worth paints part of the ocean-themed vessel he's creating for the elaborate Fantasy Fest parade. (Photo by Steve Panariello, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Yet it also offers a showcase for artists — primarily costume and float designers who devote their incredible talents to perfecting creations for costume contests, the Masquerade March and the grand parade.

Among them is Rick Worth, a soft-spoken and supremely creative man whose artistic triumphs range from small Key West-themed paintings to massive, over-the-top Fantasy Fest floats and festival facades for local emporiums.

Rick began his colorful career turning shabby cars into whimsical “art-o-mobiles” (like a shark car driven by a local attorney and a drivable coral reef).

Crafting one of Fantasy Fest's elaborate float entries requires a LOT of glitter -- as Rick (right) and his fellow designer know! (Photo by Steve Panariello, Florida Keys News Bureau)

He has also painted large-scale murals on the exteriors of local buildings, including an engaging vista outside Key West International Airport that features a rooftop view of the island’s historic Old Town architecture and greenery backed by the turquoise ocean.

And don’t miss Rick’s takeoff of the famed depiction of Washington crossing the Delaware, incorporating the Keys’ Seven Mile Bridge, outside a small bar at Simonton and Olivia streets.

Just before Fantasy Fest this year, Rick had projects galore on tap — and in keeping with the festival theme of “Aquatic Afrolic,” they had an oceanic flavor. For example, recently he was putting last-minute touches on a float and overseeing costume design for a glittering marine-themed entry in the spectacular Fantasy Fest parade. His workspace was filled with a “ship” nearing completion, beautiful shell-adorned headdresses and gauzy costumes. At the same time, he was completing weird-looking eels to be part of a building façade.

Susann D'Antonio, left, and her husband Bobby showcase their "Neptune's Reef" -- a winner of the 2011 Pier House Pretenders in Paradise costume contest. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Like Rick, Big Pine Key artists Susann and Bobby D’Antonio generally put enormous amounts of time and talent into Fantasy Fest endeavors. Since the early 1990s, the husband-and-wife team has become well known for crafting over-the-top entries for major costume competitions like Pretenders in Paradise and the Pet Masquerade — as well as the lavish parade.

Their trademark creations can best be described as crosses between gigantic costumes and small parade floats. Susann often comes up with the concept, and she and Bobby construct the pieces together — typically moving from sketches to a costume’s metal framework and fabric covering, and ending with embellishments and sequins. Challenges include keeping the piece light enough for Susann to wear and/or propel.

This year, they wowed crowds at the wonderful Pretenders in Paradise costume competition with “Neptune’s Reef,” featuring an alluring mermaid accompanied by vivid-hued, deliciously exotic denizens of the aquatic world.

Fantasy Fest's "aquatic" poster was dreamed up by artist Brian Johnson. (Photo courtesy of Fantasy Fest)

Artists in more traditional mediums contribute to Fantasy Fest too. Each year, festival organizers request design submissions for the official poster. The winning artist this year was frequent Key West visitor Brian Johnson.

Inspired by the festival’s aquatic theme, he dreamed up a blue-eyed King Neptune surrounded by imaginative undersea creatures, and elements suggesting the island’s Old Town — all depicted in the vibrant colors of the Keys’ ocean and sunset.

Whether you’re an art lover or simply a connoisseur of craziness, don’t miss any of the creativity and pageantry of Key West’s Fantasy Fest. In fact, start planning now to attend next year’s festival. According to organizers — and they should know — the 2012 dates are Oct. 19-28.

Topics: Arts, Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Events, Festivals, Highlights, Key West, Voices Main Archive

The sun is shining, the start of Fantasy Fest is this week, and the island is buzzing with excitement!  I’ve pressed my toga, fluffed my beehive, and have my beads ready to dazzle the multitudes that arrive for Key West’s lavish masking and costuming festival.

How should you dress for Fantasy Fest? In the most elaborate, outrageous costumes you can find!

At Atlanta Pride we met many people coming down for Fantasy Fest (which takes place, by the way, Oct. 21-30).  We answered questions about the events, how one should dress or what kind of dress to wear, what the different parties are like, what the Goombay Festival is, where people can get their bodies painted and just how much can be painted and uncovered.

One of Fantasy Fest’s highlights is the annual Headdress Ball, hosted by the Key West Business Guild and set for Tuesday, Oct. 25 — and it’s shaping up as a star-studded night to be remembered. It’s held under a mammoth white tent, and the evening’s contestants will dazzle your imagination with their creative headdresses. (Please note that judges only evaluate mask or headdress elements above the shoulders and over the head.) The winner walks away with a check for $1,500.

Wednesday brings the annual Pet Masquerade & Parade hosted at the historic Casa Marina Resort; Thursday brings the glittering Pretenders in Paradise costume competition hosted by the Pier House Resort.

Blog author Steve and his husband Paul join the Masquerade March in style.

My favorite event takes place Friday, Oct. 28: the Masquerade March through Old Town, drawing thousands of costumed revelers. The march begins at the local cemetery and divides into two groups to parade through the streets, stopping at bed-and-breakfast resorts for libations. At the close of the event, participants can spill onto Duval Street to explore a mile-long street fair offering arts, crafts, foods and costumed frivolity.

If marching through the streets doesn’t fulfill your fantasy, check out the Pirate Bash, Fetish & Fantasy Party, Pimp and Ho Party, Hair of the Hog Leather and Lace Party, Tea Dance in the Street at the 801 Bourbon Bar, or the Southernmost Sirens, Sea Nymphs and Sailors Costume Contest.

Saturday’s daytime hours feature the Duval Street Promenade with sassy entertainers, hot dancers at Bourbon St. Pub and the Epidermal Arts and Torso Tapestries cultural (!) event at the Green Parrot Bar.

After Fantasy Fest, a parade of a different kind will feature a section of Key West's internationally famous sea-to-sea rainbow flag.

The festival’s delicious madness reaches its peak for the Captain Morgan Fantasy Fest Parade, stepping off at 7 p.m. with dozens of entries delighting a crowd of around 60,000 people on Key West’s historic Whitehead and Duval streets. Trust me — there’s never a dull moment during our fabulous annual Fantasy Fest.

When my costumes are finally packed away, I’m off to Palm Springs, California, for the 12th International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism, followed by Palm Springs Pride Nov. 5 and 6.  Be sure to stop by the Keys and Key West booth at the festival. And don’t miss seeing a section of our famed sea-to-sea rainbow flag, which will be carried in their parade Sunday starting at 10 a.m.

Till next time!

Topics: Events, Festivals, Highlights, Key West, LGBT, Local Color

Wow, time just keeps flying by on this island! September ended with the sloth of Bear Fest attendees growling, moaning, groaning, eating, drinking, and laughing as they enjoyed Key West. I played with the bears as I welcomed and escorted three German, two British, and three domestic journalists to the island.

Fort Jefferson, lying on a tiny island in the Dry Tortugas nearly 70 miles west of Key West, is a favorite spot for visitors eager to snorkel the cool, clear waters. (Photos by Rob O'Neal)

In addition to the bear parties, my group enjoyed dinners at Mangoes, Antonia’s, Braza Lena, and Abbondanza Family Italian Restaurant. The days were spent on the Blu Q snorkeling and picnicking, visiting Fort Jefferson (one of the largest brick structures in North America, located 70 miles from Key West in the Gulf of Mexico), and walking and bicycling around historic Old Town Key West. The weather was splendid during their trip and a great time was had by all.

The Bear Fest bears also splashed in the pools at Big Ruby’s and the Island House, and watched the moon cross the sky while playing in the Bourbon Street pool and foam parties. (I would think it difficult to see the moon through mountains of foam — when you’re here, ask the Bourbon Street boys how one does it).

It was truly a weekend to be remembered. Next year’s Key West Bear Fest is set for Oct. 4-7, 2012.

The U.S.S. Spruance was commissioned at a sunset ceremony on Key West's waterfront. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Another event to remember took place Oct. 1. A new chapter in Key West’s nearly 200-year military history was written when the island hosted the commissioning of U.S.S. Spruance, the U.S. Navy’s most advanced destroyer. The sunset ceremony included the raising of the ship’s colors and a flyover by a Naval Air Station Key West fighter squadron.  This is the first time the subtropical island has hosted a Naval vessel commissioning — and it couldn’t have came at a better moment, just after the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” opened a new chapter of pride in serving our country.

October, by the way, contains a staggering number of events hosted by the candidates for king and queen of Fantasy Fest.  Recent highlights were an afternoon of music by our own Howard Livingston at Charlie Bauer’s Smokin’ Tuna Saloon, hosted by Dave Taylor, Cypress House general manager and candidate for king. Drop in sometime and enjoy a hidden treasure just steps from Duval Street.

Clockwork Orange won first place in the 2010 Headdress Ball. (Photo courtesy of Fantasy Fest)

Other candidate events included chocolate parties, wine tastings with the butterflies at the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory (one of our award-winning gay-owned attractions), dinners, fashion shows, and sailing adventures.

If you’re here for Fantasy Fest, don’t miss the 29th annual Headdress Ball on Oct. 25. It’s sponsored by the Key West Business Guild and held in a massive tent on the grounds of the former Atlantic Shores at Southernmost on the Beach. Attendees will be entertained by some of Key West’s finest, including recording artist and local entertainer Faith Michaels.

Speaking of Fantasy Fest, you and your favorite pet should start planning your costumes for the festival’s annual Pet Masquerade and Parade. The wacky costume contest for domestic pets and their people takes place at the Casa Marina Resort Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Time to start choosing your four-footed friend's Pet Masquerade attire!

Past competitors have included a leather-clad dog ‘driving’ a tiny hot rod, a ‘cocktail-loving’ cockatoo, a hairless cat in goggles, and an Asian ensemble starring a Great Pyrenees dog as a giant panda.

Let your imagination inspire you, and compete in the fun-filled event with your furred or feathered friend.

(After all, pets and their owners sometimes look alike, so now is your chance to dress alike too!)

I’m on the way to Atlanta Pride, but I’ll be back in plenty of time to frolic at Fantasy Fest. See you there!

Topics: Animal Ambassadors, Events, Festivals, Key West, LGBT, Voices Main Archive

Imagine yourself dressed as a vibrant-hued fish with sequined scales and gauzy fins, “swimming” down a street lined with beautiful Victorian houses and flower-bedecked picket fences. Or wearing a mystical sea king’s robes, the breeches and tricorn hat of a bold buccaneer, or the flowing hair and nearly sheer gown of a seductive siren.

Two cuckoos and their canines show of their finery during a past Fantasy Fest costume contest. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Now imagine thousands of other revelers gleefully parading alongside you, costumed like mischievous mermaids, leering mariners, and devilish denizens of the deep. You raise your fins in salute, and crowds of spectators erupt in a thunderous cheer.

An unlikely scenario? Not if you’re participating in Key West’s Fantasy Fest celebration, held each October on the tiny island where virtually any occasion can spark a party.

The exotic 10-day festival is internationally recognized for its elaborate costume competitions, street fairs, masquerade balls and lavish grand parade. Fantasy Fest 2011 takes place Oct. 21-30 — and trust me, it will be an unprecedented display of Key West’s creativity, individuality, flamboyant spirit and love of “dressing for excess.”

Mariners of mayhem guide their vessel down Key West's Duval Street during a past year's Captain Morgan Fantasy Fest Parade. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Each year, a different theme provides inspiration for the festival’s fabulous costumes and floats. This year’s theme is “Aquatic Afrolic” — with an emphasis on “frolicking” in virtually every allowable manner.

With that much revelry taking place, however, unprepared partiers are likely to fall by the wayside. To maximize enjoyment, follow this five-step survival guide.

Pace yourself. This year, Fantasy Fest includes close to 50 undersea-themed escapades. No matter how dedicated you are, it’s physically impossible to participate in all of them — so study the festival schedule, figure out which events look most appealing, map out your strategy, and stick to it. (And take a nap at every reasonable opportunity.)

Wearing comfortable shoes (generally smaller than this one!) is a must to maximize Fantasy Fest enjoyment. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Wear comfortable shoes. Okay, you’re planning on dressing as the sea king’s princess, in a lavish multicolored gown with a glittering mask. But you’ll be doing a lot of walking and dancing, so leave the four-inch heels at home. Instead, get some comfortable flats and decorate them with sequins and glitter. An hour into your first party, you’ll be thanking the ocean gods you did.

Design your costume(s) to be easy-access. Let’s face it … eventually, everybody has to answer a call of nature. And that’s not easy if you’re wearing, say, a massive wraparound sea shell that weighs 15 pounds and requires two cohorts to help you put it on. Sure, it might attract lots of compliments … but you’ll be a lot happier in something more practical for a long night of carousing.

Make it memorable. Fantasy Fest should be a fabulous, unforgettable experience that you savor while it’s happening and relive in your memory for years afterward. But that can’t happen if you overindulge — so make some of your libations non-alcoholic. You’ll get a buzz from the festival anyway, and you won’t have to rely on blurry cell-phone photos and your friends’ tales to recall what a good time you had.

Fantasy Fest's Masquerade March draws costumed characters of all kinds to parade through Key West's historic Old Town. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Do not — under any circumstances — miss Fantasy Fest’s Masquerade March. This exuberant walking parade, which begins at the strangely appealing Key West Cemetery, is the locals’ favorite event. Marchers in masks and costumes, carrying noisemakers and accompanied by impromptu bands, meander through the island’s historic Old Town — stopping at designated B&Bs for nibbles and cocktails. Last year’s most colorful marchers included a flock of feathered “wild things,” four guys in matching Wonder Woman costumes, two polka-dotted walking octopuses and the self-proclaimed Sisters of Insanity, who confessed to having “nasty habits.”

Whether your festival plans involve nasty habits or not, click here for a VIP preview of Key West’s aquatic frolic.

Topics: Events, Festivals, Highlights, Key West, Local Color, Voices Main Archive

Sept. 23 marks the official beginning of autumn, a mysterious occasion when day and night are the same length. That’s nothing new in Key West, however, since our days start with an early sunrise and end at 4 a.m. when the bars close!

Fantasy Fest's frivolity and exuberance are captured each year in Fast Buck Freddie's extraordinary window displays. (Photo courtesy of Fast Buck Freddie's)

Our leaves don’t change color come autumn, but look for outrageous colors across the island when Fantasy Fest begins. Themed Aquatic Afrolic, it kicks off Oct. 21 with the Goombay Festival offering the tastes, sights, and sounds of the Caribbean in the center of Old Town Key West.

Businesses across Key West decorate for Fantasy Fest. Fast Buck Freddie’s, founded in 1976 by legendary gay couple Bill Conkle and Tony Falcone, leads the way in Fantasy Fest window decorations. A must-visit emporium when you’re on the island, the classy boutique department store is named after a popular cut on the first gold record of the group Jefferson Starship.

Oct. 21 also is the night we crown our king and queen of Fantasy Fest. I recently wrote about the hard work the candidates take on to claim the crown.  You can meet the royals at the spectacular coronation event, titled The Lost City of Atlantis and hosted by the Southernmost Beach Café. Book your table now since the gala gathering sells out every year!

Fans of HBO’s “True Blood” will love another Fantasy Fest event — the Vampires Ball at the Haunting of Fort Zachary Taylor (we locals lovingly refer to the place as Fort Elizabeth Taylor).

Revelers can really sink their teeth into the Vampires Ball. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

This costume event starts at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Dig deep into your crypt for an appropriate costume and be sure to sharpen your fangs for the haunting evening.

If you’re not into vampire vamping, check out the entertaining vamps at the Twirling Buoy Salacious Sideshow, also set for Saturday night and featuring Key West’s own burlesque troupe. The show is a raucous ride down into the depths of an old circus carnival full of sordid seductresses and marvelously mischievous characters — guaranteed to be unforgettable.

On Tuesday, Oct. 25, unleash your creative fantasies, don the headdress that sparks your imagination, and enter the Key West Business Guild’s 29th annual Headdress Ball. A $1,500 prize awaits the best headdress, along with a ride in the Fantasy Fest parade. Titled Aquatic Afrolic — Underseas Odyssey, it will be held on the site of our former Atlantic Shores at the Southernmost on the Beach.

Elaborately costumed party lovers "dress for excess" during Fantasy Fest. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Headdress displays are likely to suggest everything from mysterious mariners to divas of the deep, and exuberant entertainment is planned for the evening cabaret hosted by local actor Tom Luna.

Tom was crowned Fantasy Fest king in 1992. I was there the night he was awarded his crown while a massive crowd screamed, “Luna, Luna, Luna!” and I will never forget that evening. You won’t forget the Headdress Ball either. Wear a mask, hat, costume, or headdress and be part of the over-the-top fun.

I’m off to ready myself for the arrival of the sloth of bears for Key West Bear Fest. FYI, bears can run up to 40 miles an hour and run sideways, beating the fastest human; they just can’t make turns as sharply as we do.

Most people would call a sloth of bears big trouble, but our bears are the gentle kind. They make their turns on the dance floor or in our bars and restaurants. Next blog I’ll tell you about them and their invasion of Key West!

Topics: Events, Festivals, Key West, LGBT, Voices Main Archive