The main players behind Key West’s buzzy, colorful October festival, which sends thousands of revelers into the streets, have a fairly straightforward checklist for selecting a winning Fantasy Fest theme.
Key West
Key West’s Womenfest aims to create a vibrant series of spaces for women to be around like-minded islanders and travelers, who come as they are. Something that for a long time was celebrated under the city’s “One Human Family” motto.
This summer, Duval Street in Key West gives way to restaurants and chefs serving fresh lobster straight to diners on the street. It all builds toward a large stage at the intersection of Greene Street, where popular acts rock out before thousands of music and seafood lovers.
Key West’s venerable drag entertainment venue, AquaPlex (APKW), is closed. According to management the business was evicted from its prime location on Duval St. in the heart of the island’s party district.
From June 8-21, Key West’s Mallory Square, the home to world-famous sunsets and many island artists, will host its Summer Solstice Celebration. The Key West Cultural Preservation Society, which oversees the daily sunset activities, came up with this itinerary as a way to draw tourists at the start of summer while qualifying for Tourist Development Council funding.
Key West Pride is theming its June 3–7 events around “Color the Island.” A choice that could be interpreted as a response by the Key West Business Guild, which organizes the official schedule, to recent directives at the state level, which resulted in last year’s removal of the city’s rainbow crosswalks.
Although the rush of summer in the Florida Keys is just beginning, the month of June can feel as busy in Key West with its Pride celebrations, parades, and even solstice gatherings. The following are some of the one-off and nightly events that you might want to attend.
When Rams Head Presents purchased one of the island’s most recognized music festivals a few years ago, operator Kyle Muehlhauser, who has a great appreciation for the art of songwriting and storytelling, already felt connected to the Key West Songwriters Festival.
What started over a decade ago in the nearby parking lot and primarily out of the exhibit at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center has grown into a family-friendly annual event at Truman Waterfront Park in Key West.
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