Photos by Michael Diamond and Lady Venus (LV) – article by Lady Venus

Fantasy Fest 2008 has come and gone and it was another exciting time in Key West, complete with pirates, drag queens, political pundits, Key Lime pie, and quite a lot of rainfall. When my plane landed, parts of the tarmac were under so much water that the planes had to maneuver around the enormous pools of water. Many roads were under too much water to pass through safely in a car, but I was certain that the wet weather would not deter attendees who had waited one year for this great event.

Now, let’s talk about Fantasy Fest. Although the US economy is in a downward spiral, that did not seem to put an extreme damper on the festivities. We did notice, however, that there were fewer people in body paint this year, possibly because of the expense of getting painted. Though not as many painted bodies roamed the streets, there was no shortage of revelers in all sorts of costumes. This year’s theme was Pirates, Pundits, and Political Party Animals. Since Captain Morgan was the main event sponsor, there were pirates, pirate wenches, and parrots as far as the eye could see.

Not surprisingly, we also saw many costumes and parade floats with a decidedly political influence. Yep, you betcha there were lots of Sarah Palin lookalikes (complete with somewhat dysfunctional families in tow), plenty of pigs wearing lipstick, and even one gentleman who was a dead ringer for John McCain! We spotted many Barack Obama supporters as well, including some kitty cats and drag queens. The best campaign sign that I spotted (and absconded with!) was a “Drag Queens for Obama” sign. A great number of the 62 parade entries also sported a decidedly political theme, not surprising with the US presidential elections looming in the coming week. In fact, there was even a float with a bunch of blue dress-wearing Monica Lewinsky dancers. (Of course, there were some Clintons with cigars on that float as well.)

Much of my time was spent up near the 801 Bourbon Bar so that I could watch all the sexy gay men in various states of undress gyrate and tantalize both men and women in the hot sun. Much to my amazement, the drag queens were dressed to the nines and they all looked beautiful, despite the unrelenting humidity. I wore a t-shirt and shorts and felt like a hot mess, but these drag queens worked the hell out of their sexy dresses. I would like to offer a big thank you to Miss Sushi who allowed me to sit out on the balcony of the bar during the parade to take photos. Though I am afraid of heights, I think that I got some great shots to share with you.

Michael had a street-level view of the parade at the La Concha hotel. He remembers that he was squished against the barriers last year, but he said that this year it was not as bad. As I mentioned before, the sputtering US economy might have had an influence on the number of party-goers. In fact, when checking in to the hotel, Michael was offered a balcony suite. Normally the balcony suites are booked a year in advance!

Economic recession or not, Fantasy Fest was a great time again this year and we would like to thank HotMovies.com for sponsoring Fantasy Fest and our trip to cover it. Michael and I are already planning our costumes for next year!