Born in 1979 as a way to boost tourism during the slow season, Fantasy Fest quickly evolved into a ten-day explosion of costumes, body paint, satire, drag, pirates, leather, locals, snowbirds, and anyone brave enough to step onto Duval Street after dark. By 1982, it had fully found its personality: irreverent, tropical, slightly unhinged — and very, very Key West.
Fantasy Fest has always held a special place in queer culture, too — long before it was mainstream travel fare. Drag queens, leather daddies, beach goths, punks, straight weirdos, and retirees in nothing but body paint all shared the same humid street. It was and still is radical visibility wrapped in carnival glitter.
