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The Florida Keys irrepressibly creative spirit was on full display in an otherworldly spectacle Saturday night as the world-famous Deep Eddy Vodka Key West Fantasy Fest parade made its way down Duval Street, celebrating its 46th year and the 2025 theme, “Bedtime Stories and Magical Monsters.”
Each year, following the parade, prizes are awarded by a panel of judges to multiple “Best Of” entries in a variety of categories, followed by announcement of the following year’s Fantasy Fest theme. This year, 33 entries competed for $20,000 in prizes, and the winners are:
The $6000 Key West Fantasy Fest Parade Grand Prize for Best Overall, presented by The Lodging Association of the Florida Keys & Key West, is awarded to the Key West Kreatives team with their entry “Seuss on the Loose.” The winning theme for Key West Fantasy Fest 2026, scheduled for Oct. 16-25, is “Musical Icons and Iconic Musicals.” Stephanie Southgate of Key West, Florida, submitted the tuneful idea in Fantasy Fest’s annual “Name the Theme” competition and has won VIP seating with the parade’s judges and organizers for the 2026 Fantasy Fest Parade. “Whether you imagine yourself at the center of a Ziegfeld extravaganza, follow the call of a disco ball, or go Gaga for Ziggy Stardust, the Tourist Development Association Board of Directors all agree that Stephanie Southgate’s 2026 theme idea absolutely sparkles with exciting possibilities,” said Nadene Grossman Orr, Fantasy Fest Director and President/CEO of We’ve Got the Keys. Fantasy Fest events wrap up on Sunday with a slate of happenings, including Children’s Day at Bayview Park; “The Fat Lady Sings” Tea Dance at La Te Da Hotel, Restaurant, Cabaret and Bars; Fest finale pool parties held at Island House Resort, Southernmost Beach Resort’s Pineapple Pool, and The Marker, and more. A post-Fest bonus event pops up on Wednesday, Oct. 29, with a Golf Cart Façade Viewing Tour, presented by Greeen House. Fantasy Fest 2025 featured more than 100 events citywide and was presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. Visit http://www.fantasyfest.com for photo galleries of 2025 highlights and advance 2026 festival news and information.
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Connie Zemcik, the 2025 Fantasy Fest T-shirt and poster design contest winner greeted Festival revelers and signed posters at the Florida Keys Council of the Arts Official Poster Signing Party on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the Lobby Tropicado of the La Concha Hotel, 430 Duval St., Key West.
Zemcik, a New Smyrna Beach-based artist and muralist, creates art on buildings, windows, canvas, and now, Fantasy Fest collectibles. She learned about the contest just two days before the submission deadline through an Instagram post. “I integrate all kinds of diverse components together for a living, so I’m used to uniting imagery and dreaming up characters,” she said. “It’s not at all unusual for a client to come to me and describe five or six unique elements they want brought together in an artwork.” Her 2025 design, reflecting this year’s Fantasy Fest theme, “Bedtime Stories & Magical Monsters,” bursts with colorful fantasy and Key West flair. The artwork features a radiant mermaid astride a flying “Mother” goose adorned with beads, a rainbow-maned unicorn, a mischievous dragon, and a playful sea monster – all swirling around the iconic Southernmost Point buoy marker. Other whimsical elements include a fairy in flight, a flying fish, a genie emerging from a bottle, and a vivid dreamscape of stars – capturing the imagination and magic that define Fantasy Fest. Fantasy Fest 2025 runs through Oct. 26 and is presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. For a full calendar of events visit http://www.fantasyfest.com. Each year Key West guesthouses, businesses and private homes deck out their cribs and compete for cash prizes in the annual Fantasy Fest Fantasy Façade competition. Contestants were challenged to bring this year’s theme - “Bedtime Stories & Magical Monsters”- to life, embrace classic Halloween ghoulishness, or conjure up a creative mix of both. Sponsored by Haunted Key West, the following winners have scored a total of $2500 in prize dollars:
And taking the top Spooktacular Showstopper Prize of $1000 was entry #19, the Stockton household at 2912 Staples Ave for “Staples Ave. Cemetery.” For a listing of all 33 participating entries and their locations, download the Fantasy Fest app, available on the Festival web site. Fantasy Fest 2025 is presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. For a full calendar of events and schedule updates visit https://fantasyfest.com. Hundreds of loyal subjects and members of Fantasy Fest royalty spanning decades celebrated with effervescently Key West-style pomp and circumstance at the Coffee Butler Amphitheater on Friday night as Joe Wooten and Cindy Bensen were crowned the new reigning King and Queen of Fantasy Fest. Mina Valdez and Floyd Jenkins (aka Pepa Mahogany) were installed as Duchess and Duke, completing the 2025 royal court.
Since 1989, Fantasy Fest Royalty have achieved their titles through annual fundraising campaigns that take place over multiple weeks. This year, the four competitors raised a total of $353,538.00 to benefit the Florida Keys SPCA. Friday’s coronation marks three years since the Florida Keys SPCA took the reins of the Royal Campaign. In 2022, after decades of organizing the competition and benefitting from its proceeds, AH Monroe Executive Director Scott Pridgen and Fantasy Fest board chair Steve Robbins announced it was time to pass the torch. The Tourist Development Association selected the Florida Keys SPCA to take over as planner, organizer, producer, and beneficiary, launching a new era for a competition that has crowned 67 King and Queen pairings and raised more than $5.5 million in 36 years. Since then, campaign proceeds have enabled the FKSPCA to purchase a fully equipped mobile vet clinic and dramatically expand community outreach – including spay/neuter services, wellness programs, kids’ clubs, animal behavioral training and a Safe Haven program for pets whose owners are in emergency situations, said FKSPCA Executive Director Tammy Fox. Friday evening’s festivities included dinner and a dazzling two-hour stage show with performances by the candidates and a stellar roster of special guests, co-hosted by Erin McKenna and Bria Ansara. The evening also included a heartfelt tribute to the late Christopher Elwell, 2010 Fantasy Fest King, highlighted by the inaugural presentation of the “Christopher Elwell Royal Award” to 2015 Fantasy Fest Queen Jodyrae Campbell. The newly crowned Royal Court will appear at multiple 2025 Fantasy Fest events and serve as imperial ambassadors until the 2026 competition, and as Emeritus Royalty in perpetuity. This year’s “Bedtime Stories & Magical Monsters” themed Fantasy Fest features more than 100 events including Goombay Festival, the wildly enchanting Pet Masquerade, the Captain Morgan Masquerade March, and the world famous Deep Eddy Vodka Fantasy Fest Parade. Fantasy Fest 2025 is presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council. For a full calendar of events and contests visit http://www.fantasyfest.com. As the City of Key West prepares for Fantasy Fest, some bike racks along Duval Street will be temporarily removed to ensure public safety during the upcoming events. Beginning on October 10th the U-shaped rack will be removed. The racks have already been posted with No Parking signs. The racks will be put back in place after Fantasy Fest.
Bikes left of the racks will be removed and stored by Community Services. Owners of bicycles that must be removed will be required to show proof of ownership and may be charged a storage fee. Find nearby bike parking here: https://bit.ly/kwrack Key West Fantasy Fest, with its scores of parties, parades and events and the 2025 theme “Bedtime Stories & Magical Monsters,” kicks off October 17, but for “makers” like Kristyn LaMoia, the annual extravaganza starts weeks in advance as she begins to conceptualize and craft her magic. Kristyn recently shared a glimpse into her Fantasy Fest world:
Where were you born, and what brought you to the Keys? Kristyn: I was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida! Work is what brought me here—specifically, a random email to Wonderdog Studios seeking graphic design work. My family had visited the Keys a few times, I enjoyed it and figured, why not see if there were any design jobs to be had. Sure enough, there was. I came down in May of 2017 and fell in love. Can you tell us a bit about your artistic background and how you developed your creative chops? Kristyn: I’ve always felt pulled to create things. I went to college for graphic design because, to me, it blended psychology and art together perfectly. In 2020, I started selling my original artwork professionally in some Key West galleries. I didn’t really dive into three-dimensional art or costume work until I discovered Fantasy Fest! What year did you first bring your talents to Fantasy Fest costume creation? Kristyn: I was fortunate to be part of the creative team involved with rebranding Fantasy Fest in 2017, designing the new logo and poster artwork. That experience laid the mental groundwork for me to start contributing more personally to the event. At first, costumes just felt like a fun side project—a way to join in on the celebration creatively. I think my first “big-ish” costume was a Venus Fly Trap head I made for the 2018 Zombie Bike Ride. “Brains… it’s what plants crave!” (A spoof on a line from the movie “Idiocracy”). What did you make for 2024? Kristyn: Too many costumes! I was very inspired by the '90s theme, so went all out. · "Smiley Rave Baby" was a Lisa Frank/acid rave/Rainbow Brite-inspired smiley face head, made by painstakingly paper mâché-ing many layers over an exercise ball. · "Dead Tech" was a resurrected vintage iMac I got off eBay. I gutted it, cut a hole in the bottom, and wore it on my head. I also spent many hours creating a matching corset and skirt using my dad’s collection of old computer cords. · I also made an "Unbirthday Girl" outfit for Tutu Tuesday, tying into the “Alice in Wonderland” theme. I learned how to "frost" my outfit and headdress using spackling and caulking to make it all look like cake. All of this happened inside my 9'x12' bedroom, by the way. Will you share what you’re cooking up for 2025? Kristyn: After years of partying for multiple days in a row with my head fully enclosed in headdresses, I vowed that 2025 would be all about comfort and ease. I decided I wouldn’t make anything too crazy or plan too far ahead—usually I start in August. So, you and I will both be surprised by whatever I end up wearing this year—if anything at all, haha! Any must-have items on your costume creation checklist? Kristyn: Hot glue, cardboard, and a bicycle helmet—the foundation of pretty much all my big headdresses. Any particular challenges or memorable mishaps from past years? Kristyn: Oh, plenty! I’ve lost count of hot glue burns and minor blood sacrifices. But when the Dremel blade came flying off while I was cutting a hole in the bottom of the iMac is when I took a profound moment to appreciate the miracle of not losing an eye. Once I was creating a big anglerfish head out of cardboard, but had to pause while my house got tented for termites (so Key West). When I came back, the base had completely collapsed—probably from the moisture in the air. My favorite recurring challenge is getting myself and my costumes to and from parties! Most of my costumes aren’t exactly bike friendly, so I end up transporting them in a little cart attached to the back of my bike – kind of like a minimalist, quirky parade float. Favorite thing about Fantasy Fest? Kristyn: The camaraderie among locals. Even though the city gets flooded with visitors, I feel more connected to the friends who work hard to produce these events and/or contribute creatively—photographers, bartenders, costume creators. It’s a week of celebration, shared challenges, and overflowing appreciation for this special community. Key West Fantasy Fest 2025 presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. For a full calendar of events, contests, schedule updates, and a downloadable mobile APP, visit http://www.fantasyfest.com. Magical Mischief Awaits as Key West Fantasy Fest 2025 Conjures Bedtime Stories and Magical Monsters9/11/2025 Dreamers, night creatures and storybook stars are invited to adorn themselves in their most inspired themed attire and immerse in 10 days and nights of stellar revelry for Key West Fantasy Fest 2025, set to run October 17-26.
This year’s theme, “Bedtime Stories and Magical Monsters” celebrates the full spectrum of imagination – those tales that tucked us in at night and the monsters that lurked in the dark. Here’s a sampling of just some of this year’s highlights. Complete information for events, times, locations, and contest entry links can be found at http://www.fantasyfest.com:
Fantasy Fest 2025 is presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. For a full calendar of events, schedule updates, contest details, and a downloadable mobile APP, visit http://www.fantasyfest.com. When it comes to over-the-top costuming extravaganzas, nothing compares to Key West Fantasy Fest, a legendary mashup of parades, outrageous themed parties, and jaw-dropping pageantry that turns the island into one big, fantasy playground for 10 days and nights each year. Not bad for a festival that started more than four decades ago just to spice up the sleepy fall season at the end of US1.
In 2017, Fantasy Fest experienced a vibrant resurgence when Nadene Grossman Orr, winner of the 2003 Fantasy Fest Queen title and head of the production company “We’ve Got the Keys” – known for producing large-scale, city-wide events - seized an opportunity to present her vision to the Monroe County Tourist Development Association’s Board of Directors. Her pitch hit the mark, winning her the contract to produce the Fest. With a vision that celebrated both community ownership and bold creativity, she and her team have since reimagined Fantasy Fest for a new era – without losing sight of its rich and irreverent roots. Q: What inspired you to pursue the Fantasy Fest production contract? Nadene: I arrived in Key West two weeks before Fantasy Fest in 1991 – it was my induction! With that timing and my wiring, it was pretty inevitable that I would go full immersion, and for years I was an enthusiastic costumed participant with my friends. Working as a hotel concierge back then, I also had to be well informed about the festival for our guests. I began volunteering with AIDS Help – now A.H. Monroe, helping them run the King and Queen campaigns. The pre-festival, behind-the-scenes community effort, raising funds, lifting each other up, was so inspiring to me. That was my Fantasy Fest path, and the foundation for my passion to become its director. Q: What were some of your original goals? Nadene: Fantasy Fest really has an enormous financial and emotional impact here. It supports multiple local non-profits along with businesses, hotels and guesthouses, and most importantly, the hundreds of individuals who rely on this annual celebration to pull their finances out of the summer doldrums. Knowing first hand the importance of this to so many, my goals included reigniting our sense of local ownership, ramping up creative, super imaginative costuming, and making it culturally relevant for future generations while still embracing its glittery legacy. Q: How is Fantasy Fest funded? Nadene: Sponsorships and event grants from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council! Sponsorships mostly come from Florida Keys hotel partners, businesses, and brand partners who are featured throughout the festival and who get to host the official Fantasy Fest events. Q: How many events does Key West Fantasy Fest typically encompass? Nadene: More than 100! So friends, please support the sponsors—where you stay, party, and even what you sip—because that helps keep so many Fantasy Fest events free and thriving. Our team-produced events like the Fantasy Fest Street Fair, Captain Morgan Masquerade March, and the Deep Eddy Vodka Fantasy Fest Parade are all made possible thanks to that support. Q: What kind of team does it take to pull this off? Nadene: I have a full-time team of five at We’ve Got the Keys, and Fantasy Fest is our biggest project of the year. Some of our other events include the annual Key Lime Festival, Key West Songwriters Festival, and Taste of Key West. We start planning each Fantasy Fest before the previous year’s festival ends—that’s when we choose the next year’s theme! As we get closer to October, we bring in more staffers to help with logistics like the Street Fair, parades, and retail operations. And we couldn't do it without around 150 volunteers who help us get the Masquerade March and Fantasy Fest Parade smoothly and safely through the streets. It’s a true team effort powered by passion. Q: What makes your team tick? Nadene: Creativity, camaraderie, and an unshakable sense of purpose. We thrive on energy, pride, patience, and mutual support—plus coffee, chocolate, and cheese! Seriously though, we love what we do, and we love this community. Q: What have been some of your greatest challenges? Nadene: Taking over in 2017 came with big dreams and the vision to rebrand and take the legacy event in a new creative direction. Then, just weeks before the festival was to begin, Category 4 Hurricane Irma hit. All hands were on deck to help with community support and clean up – and of course Fantasy Fest was put on hold while City and County leadership determined if infrastructure could even be restored in time to welcome so many visitors back to the island after such a devastating storm. But we got the official “GO”, and while it was a challenge to pull off, being able to help restart the local economy and bring joy to the community after the devastation made it so worth it. Then came March of 2020. Navigating through COVID-19 forced us to reimagine everything. We canceled the parade and street fair. We held a “Community Wins” campaign online to raise funds for locals in need. Then 2021 brought a new variant and again no full-on festival – but we modified and adapted. Fantasy Fest has always been about creativity, reinvention and resilience. Q: Did you get to keep your 2003 Fantasy Fest Queen crown? Nadene: YES! Q: Do you wear it shopping? To special events? Nadene: Ha! Its heavy! It’s been a while since I’ve worn it … very special royal engagements, and the occasional coronation! I do love to see my fellow royals in the Holiday Parade each year donning their royal attire! Q: Words of wisdom to Fantasy Fest-ers? Nadene: We always say: pace yourself! Download the app, map your plan, and prepare for a wild ride. Fantasy Fest 2025 takes place from Friday, Oct. 17 through Sunday, Oct. 26 and is presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. For a full calendar of events, contests, schedule updates, a downloadable mobile APP and fun ideas on how to get involved, visit http://www.fantasyfest.com. Question: What dazzling ruby-hued object best captures the essence of one of the world’s most celebrated stories and Key West, Florida’s passion for self-discovery, transformation and flamboyant self-expression?
If this were “Jeopardy!” the correct response would be: What is the sparkling, larger-than life, world-renowned red high-heeled shoe that descends from the upper balcony of the Bourbon St. Pub each Dec. 31, with a glamorous drag queen onboard? Today, in a nod to the crimson cultural symbol and its capacity to spark excitement and joy, organizers for Fantasy Fest have announced that Key West’s red high-heeled shoe has been selected as this year’s Fantasy Fest Parade Grand Marshal. Accompanying the sensational sculpture – which was partly inspired by the famous ruby slippers of “Wizard of Oz” story fame - will be drag queen Christopher Peterson outfitted as “Oz” heroine Dorothy, along with a costumed cast of characters from the book and subsequent film starring Judy Garland. The red shoe has figured large in Key West’s mystique for decades, having made its first appearance back in 1997, brainchild of Bourbon St. Pub owner Joey Schroeder and drag queen Sushi, who was the descending pump’s sole occupant for 25 years. “This shoe is more than a symbol – it’s a glittering tribute to Key West’s unapologetic spirit, inspiring awe and celebration from Duval St. to across the globe” said Schroeder. The 2025 Fantasy Fest Parade, centerpiece of the annual 10-day festival, is set to march down Duval St. on Saturday, Oct. 25, conjuring this year’s theme of “Bedtime Stories and Magical Monsters.” “Like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, bedtime stories transport us into Technicolor dreams – where wonder reigns and the impossible comes to life,” said Fantasy Fest Director Nadene Grossman Orr. “But of course in Key West, we don’t consider anything really impossible.” Fantasy Fest 2025 is presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys. For a full calendar of events, a parade entry form, a downloadable mobile APP and other information including ways to get involved, visit http://www.fantasyfest.com. |
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