KEY WEST, Fla. — Key West started to celebrate Fantasy Fest, a street festival held for the 47th year on Duval Street.
This year, organizers said the theme of the events running through Sunday was Bedtime Stories and Magical Monsters.
“We are one human family,” Fantasy Fest Queen Cindy Bensen said. “We all love each other.”
On Friday, the festival was celebrating The Captain Morgan Masquerade March, a costume party.
“It all goes to the Florida Keys SPCA,” Fantasy Fest King Joe Wooten said about the festival benefiting the small non-profit adoption center. “We raised $252,000 over all – it was awesome.”
Festivalgoers said there’s something about Fantasy Fest that encourages letting loose.
“Everything – the whole town,” one attendee said when asked what makes it feel like you can just let it fly.
Costumes ran the gamut, from wiener dogs to spooky, spectacular outfits.
Others added a playful, irreverent flair, introducing themselves with quirky names like “Bad Gnome 69” or comparing their looks to Oktoberfest zombies.
No matter what you wear – or don’t – there’s nothing else in the world quite like it.
For more information about the Fantasy Fest’s events and contests, visit this page.
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