KEY WEST, Fla. — Thousands of costumed revelers promenaded through Key West’s Old Town Friday during the Fantasy Fest Masquerade March, a lively prelude to Saturday night’s elaborate grand parade.
The high-spirited procession was a highlight of the island’s Fantasy Fest costuming and masking festival that continues through Sunday.
Many Masquerade March participants wore costumes inspired by the 2023 Fantasy Fest theme, “Uniforms and Unicorns … 200 Years of Sailing into Fantasy,” chosen to salute the Florida Keys’ bicentennial and that of the U.S. Navy in Key West.
Standouts included a uniformed quintet with huge blue wings depicting the Navy’s elite Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron, groups of vividly costumed unicorns, and an 85-member crew dressed as pilots and flight attendants from Pan American Airways — an aviation giant launched in Key West in 1927.
Among other notable participants were a troupe portraying characters from the popular “Barbie” film and marchers paying tribute to late singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, a former Key West resident who drew inspiration from the island to shape his musical style.
Saturday night’s Fantasy Fest Parade is expected to draw some 60,000 people to Key West’s historic downtown. Each year the parade features dozens of elaborate motorized floats, costumed walking groups and island dancers in colorful feathered attire.
Fantasy Fest concludes Sunday with events including a children’s carnival and an afternoon dance party.
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