Fantasy Fest parade in Key West canceled over COVID, but other events still on
Fantasy Fest, the biggest annual event by far in tourism-dependent Key West, still remains on the calendar. But it’s been whittled down.
Organizers on Monday said the parade and street fair won’t happen this year because of COVID-19 concerns.
“We cannot look into the future, but we can certainly see what is happening in our community today and the impact that the new variant of COVID-19 has made,” festival director Nadene Grossman Orr said in a statement.
She added a request that people only attend if they are fully vaccinated although the event’s website says be fully vaccinated “or have a negative COVID test within 72 hours of attending the festival.”
Fantasy Fest is still set for Oct. 22-31.
“Fantasy Fest will look different this year but it is not canceled!” she wrote. “Please do your part as we continue to navigate the best way to gather safely in October.”
The official website includes a page of COVID-19 safety recommendations: wear masks when you can’t socially distance, bring hand sanitizer and stay home if you have any COVID symptoms.
The parade set for the end of Fantasy Fest would have drawn thousands to Duval Street to watch floats and walking groups pass by. But crowds can still attend the 10-day spectacle that features body-painted or hardly dressed people filling Duval at night.
Events still on include the Kinky Carnival — “interactive BDSM stations, fetish rooms, bondage and more!” the description on the festival’s website explains — and several clothing-optional parties.
“Key West and the Florida Keys are open for business and our festival partners are looking forward to welcoming you,” Grossman Orr said.
The Key West City Commission plans to discuss Fantasy Fest and other upcoming events like the boat races in November, at a meeting set for 5 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.
“I think we’ll discuss everything that’s left through the end of the year just to see if there are safe ways we can host the events,” said Mayor Teri Johnston.
Johnston said Grossman Orr showed concern for the community by canceling the parade and street fair.
“I know it was difficult,” Johnston said. “It’s late in the game and she had done a lot of work on it.
Fantasy Fest’s annual Masquerade March, known as the “locals parade,” is on hold for now.
“We will make a determination at a future date as to our ability to safely hold the March,” Grossman Orr wrote.
Fantasy Fest dates back to 1979, when a group of business owners decided to throw a parade as a way to attract people to the island at a time when tourism came to a standstill in October.
Now a monster party for Key West that fills hotel rooms and restaurants, Fantasy Fest can bring in about 75,000 people annually. It was canceled last year for the first time in its 41-year history due to the pandemic.
The decision to scratch this year’s Fantasy Fest parade and street fair follows announcements of other cancellations.
The wildly popular Zombie Bike Ride set to take place the first Sunday of Fantasy Fest — and draws some 10,000 people — isn’t happening, organizers said Sunday.
“You can’t critical mass without the mass,” the event’s producers said in a post on Facebook. “And you can’t ignore the virus while friends are dying, our hospital is at the brink, vaccination levels aren’t where they need to be, and other reasonable safety measures cannot be mandated or enforced.”
The ride didn’t happen last year either.
On Friday, A.H. Monroe’s board of directors said it was canceling the annual “Royal Campaign of Fantasy Fest,” which is a huge fundraiser for the nonprofit that provides housing and healthcare referrals to people living with HIV.
The campaign would have featured events over several weeks as people run for king and queen of the festival by aiming to raise the most money for A.H. Monroe to win the crowns. The announcement was made hours before the big kickoff party was to start.
The board president cited the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the Keys and “the inability to enforce masking and/or vaccination,” as reasons to cancel the campaign.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Fantasy Fest parade in Key West canceled over COVID, but other events still on."
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