Its "that" time of year. Fantasy Fest! Key West and its resident folk pull out all the stops with a 10 day festival actually kicking off today called Goombay. Goombay runs through the weekend; a celebration of Bahamian heritage, African heritage, reggae music, and all good things that go with that. The streets are filled with vendors selling arts & crafts, food, drinks, and lots of other goodies. Goombay is fun. If memory serves correctly, I believe the drink of choice is called a Goombay Smash. Do not ask me what's in it, besides rum. Tasty! Actually, Goombay is a favorite event of mine even without the rum. Its very family friendly, lots of locals look forward to going every year.
After Goombay, the week is full of all sorts of events, costume parties, pet parades, pageants, charity fundraisers, and actually too much more to list (http://www.fantasyfest.net/) There's a really big parade next Saturday night, floats, bands, costumes, body paint, and so forth. Hopefully we'll make it this year, its crazy, but fun.
What I did today was put the finishing touches on my costume, then move into plotting & planning Mr. Happy Vegan's costume. We're going to a costume party in Key West. That's a dicey subject for me this time of year.... going to Key West for a party on a work night. It could be a recipe for disaster, but I have (mostly) learned to toe the line and will not push things too far. Not properly gauging my ability absolutely will result in sheer misery for me the next morning (always remember, never forget... innkeepers get up EARLY).
Down here, people take Fantasy Fest, Halloween, and costume dress up seriously. People look at you more if you're NOT dressed up than if you are. So, we're taking the plunge, put some costumes together, and are going to get our weird on with the other lunatics. The party is a fundraiser (so that's a win-win situation), and with any luck, we may have time to end up downtown next weekend for the big parade and catch some beads.
I pretty much have a "go to" costume if I need, but thanks to a friend I now have a whole bin of costumes and related paraphernalia. Need a pink curly wig? I've got it. Want to be a Court Jester? I've got you covered. Clown? Check! Harem Girl (ooo-la-la!) Absolutely! Sparkles, spangles, and glitter? Most definitely! Digging through the bin, I realized I needed a few things for my costume that I didn't have. So, I spent my morning out and about town hitting local thrift and consignment shops. They NEVER fail down here. Need a pair of pink tights new in the bag.... you can get them for $1. Fishnets new in the wrap? $3, and done. How about a purple velvet bustier, a top hat, or a pair of devil horns. Yes, all that and more is yours within about a 20 minute drive from my house. I just LOOOOOOVE vintage!
My costume is done. I've combed out my wig, dusted off the boots, and am ready to get my weird on. Tomorrow, Mr. Happy Vegan and I have some work to do for his costume, but we've got the basic idea for construction, just keep your fingers crossed.
Fantasy Fest has only just begun, there's plenty of events for you to become part of. We hope to see you here, or at the very least downtown catching some beads ... hope you don't have to work too hard for them!!!
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