April 30, 2024 – (KEY WEST, FL).  The Key West Business Guild is pleased to announce the 41st annual Headdress Ball, an outrageous showcase of talent for mask-makers and costumers, will take place Thursday, Oct. 24, at Key West’s Coffee Butler Amphitheater in Truman Waterfront Park, hosting this year will be internationally celebrated female impersonator, Randy Roberts. Showtime at 8:00 PM.
 
The Headdress Ball celebrates the creative and free spirt of Fantasy Fest, Key West’s 10-day costuming and masking festival set for Oct. 18th – 27th., the Headdress Ball is Fantasy Fests premier LGBTQ+ event, hosted by the Key West Business Guild. Plans call for it to feature more than 15 contestants, all in awe-inspiring, unique headdresses, each hoping to walk away with the top prize.  
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Although most participants are costumed from head to toe, entrants will be judged only from the shoulders up as they vie for the first-place prize of $3,000. 

Joining Randy Roberts and along with the headdress presentations, music will be overseen by DJ Rude Girl. Both Randy Roberts and DJ Rude Girl will welcome an array of entertainment throughout the competition.
Attendees will also enjoy libations and food service, courtesy of End of Summer Grill, all available to order online when you place your order.

The Headdress Ball has been produced for the past 41 years by the Key West Business Guild, one of the oldest LGBTQ business organizations in the United States. Proceeds from the event help the guild support Key West’s gay and gay-friendly enterprises, community, and the island’s position as a leading LGBTQ vacation destination location. 

Tickets are $320 for a premium table for four people, $270 for a VIP table for four, $35 per person for chair seating and $30 per person for general admission with lawn seating. To purchase tickets and preorder food, visit keystix.com.

Event information: gaykeywestfl.com/headdress-ball, fantasyfest.com 

April 30, 2024 – (KEY WEST, FL).  The Key West Business Guild is pleased to announce registration is now open for the highly anticipated Key West Pride 2024 Parade, this year celebrating the Golden Era of 1970s Disco.  The parade will be held on Sunday, June 9th at 5:00 p.m., originating from the quayside at Truman Waterfront Park.  Participants will then proceed up Whitehead Street toward the waterfront then working its way down Duval Street.  Floats of all types will be accepted – cars, trailers, walking groups – with all participants encouraged to embrace the disco theme.

Each year Key West Pride, a five-day event, celebrates the amazing contribution the LGBTQ community makes to our island’s diverse “One Human Family”.  Disco was a defining era for the LGBTQ community, and the culture exploded with amazing style and pageantry.  It wasn’t long until Disco became a worldwide sensation influencing every aspect of society.

“Put on your Boogie Shoes, get the glitter balls ready, and dust off your bellbottoms for this year’s annual parade,” says Rob Dougherty, Executive Director of the Key West Business Guild.  “Our goal for this year’s Pride Parade is to create a ‘Love Train’ as the parade floats travel down Duval Street and to see our community dancing in the street.  Once the parade finishes on the 1300 block, we want everyone to head to LaTeDa for a Disco Tea Dance.”
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Entry for the Pride Parade is free, although the Business Guild requests a small donation of $20 to offset the cost of logistics.  The registration application is easy – visit gaykeywestfl.com/pride or call the Key West Business Guild office on 305-294-4630.

​At the first meeting of the year for the Key West Business Guild, Mayor Teri Johnston presented the Guild’s Executive Director Kevin Theriault the first-ever Rainbow Key to the City in honor of his amazing dedication to the city and the LGBTQ+ community.

The Key West Police Department is honored to be awarded the Key West Business Guild's President's Award. The award was presented in recognition of the department's dedication to the protection and support of the LGBTQIA+ community.
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“We are humbled by this honor,” said Chief Sean Brandenburg. “The men and women of the Key West Police Department are dedicated to serving our One Human Family.”
 

Mayor Teri Johnston and the City Commission helped kick off a week of celebration by proclaiming June 1st through the 5th as Key West Pride Week.

Since the late 1970s, the Key West Business Guild has been promoting Key West as a LGBTQ travel destination.
“Key West made history by electing the first openly gay Mayor,” reads the proclamation, “and the first openly lesbian mayor of the State of Florida. Key West presented the world with the Sea to Sea Rainbow Flag and has always been a leader of LGBTQ rights and protections for our nation.”

Key West Business Guild President Chuck Licis-Masson thanked the City for the newly replaced rainbow crosswalks on Duval Street. He also thanked the Key West Police Department for the Pride-wrapped police car, which was sponsored by the Business Guild.

“What’s important to focus on,” he said, “is that differences mean strength. We are empowered by our differences, not weakened.”

The city’s motto “One Human Family” reflects the community’s commitment that no matter what a person’s race, sexual orientation, or gender identity, we all can stand together as one.

“Key West Pride 2022 will serve as a reminder to all of the ongoing struggle for social, political and personal equality for the LGBTQ community across our nation and throughout the world,” continues the proclamation.
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Festivities through the week include a street fair, numerous parties as well as several church services. The celebration culminates in the Key West Pride Parade down Duval Street from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic on Sunday, June 5th beginning at 5 p.m.