Costume Contests Head Fantasy Fest’s Menu Of Mania in the Florida Keys

KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Eccentricity and inventiveness characterize the annual array of costume competitions during Key West’s Fantasy Fest, set for Oct. 20-29. The festival’s 2006 theme, “Key Weird on the Dis-Oriented Express,” encourages costume designers to hop aboard the express to excess and dare to dazzle with gaudy, glitzy ensembles.

The most elaborate of Fantasy Fest’s competitions is Pretenders in Paradise, offering flamboyant finery and lavish entertainment that incorporates professional sound, lighting and special effects. Themed “Broke … Back in the Saddle,” Pretenders 2006 is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, on the beach overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at the Pier House Resort and Caribbean Spa, 1 Duval St.

Amateur and professional costumers typically come from all over the United States to participate in Pretenders, sometimes spending months constructing glittering costumes — which might incorporate moving parts or loom so large that they tower over their wearers. Fantasy Fest attendees flock to the Pier House beach to applaud the spectacle and enjoy the eclectic evening of revelry.

As well as being a lavish display of the costumer’s art, Pretenders can be extremely lucrative for its winners. Competition judges award cash prizes totaling $10,000 in categories for professional, amateur and group entries.

Admission to Pretenders in Paradise is $28 per person. The gates open at 6 p.m., the entertainment begins at 8 p.m. and the competition kicks off at 9 p.m. Beverages and light snacks are to be available. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Pier House Beach Bar & Grille, or at the door the night of the event.

Fantasy fans eager to go “over the top” are invited to do just that at the 24th annual Headdress Ball presented by the Key West Business Guild. Contestants vie for prizes for unique headgear creations that might incorporate feathers, fur, miles of sequins or yet more unusual components. Even Carmen Miranda would feel at home at this eccentric event.

Themed “Erotic, Exotic Express” and billed as the premier gay and lesbian gala of Fantasy Fest, the ball is set for 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24. It’s slated to take place under a gigantic circus tent at the Atlantic Shores Resort, 510 South St.

General admission to the Headdress Ball is $30 per person in advance, while a reserved table for four is $250. Tickets are available on-line at wwwkeystix.com and proceeds benefit the Key West Business Guild.

For more information, contact the guild at (305) 294-4603.

Approximately a dozen other costume competitions also are scheduled for Fantasy Fest 2006 — including the annual “Red Party” the night of Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Fogarty’s & Flying Monkeys, 227 Duval St.; and the Marching Masked Mania Costume Contest at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Southernmost Resort, 1319 Duval St.

Costumed characters also are wanted for a homemade bikini competition, a masquerade contest for pets and their people, a celebrity look-alike showcase and more.

For more information about Fantasy Fest’s extravagant costume competitions, and a complete schedule of festival events, visit www.fantasyfest.net or call (305) 296-1817.

For information about lodging in Key West, call 1-800-LAST-KEY (800-527-8539) or visit the Florida Keys Web site at www.fla-keys.com

September 26, 2006   Posted in: United States SouthEast