Fantasy Fest Comes To An End
KEY WEST (CBSMiami) – After 10 days of masking and costuming madness that featured more than 40 different events, Sunday marked the end of Key West's annual Fantasy Fest.
The highlight of the festival was the Saturday's traditional late-night parade. According to the Florida Keys News Bureau, the festival's organizers boasted about the 45 colorful floats bands and marching groups that promenaded through the island's historic downtown.
This year's festival theme was A-Conch-Alypse, which the parade entries illustrated spoofing an ancient apocalypse prophecy in the island chain nicknamed the Conch Republic.
Parade standouts included a wacky Noah's Ark carrying a giant octopus, a troupe of post-apocalyptic glow-in-the-dark dancers, mythology's Atlas balancing a devastated world on his shoulders, and a "Zombie Apocalypse Political Party" float touting "Zombiecare" and votes for "Eaton D. Brains for President."
Fantasy Fest typically garners about $30 million for the Florida Keys, said Tourism officials.
To those looking forward to the 2013 festival, the theme is Super Heroes, Villains … & Beyond!, and is scheduled for the dates of Oct. 18-27.
The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report.
