Fantasy Fest… What’s the Deal?

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN
KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR 

Fantasy Fest, according to their website, is “an annual 10-day party in paradise for grown-ups.” It occurs every October here in Key West. The idea was thought up in 1979, to bring visitors to the island for a wild extravaganza filled with creativity and partying, and has obviously been a hit ever since. (fantasyfest.com)

On Tuesday, June 21st, there was a commission meeting in which the officials approved a three year agreement with the Tourist Development Association (TDA), which will allow Fantasy Fest in the city through 2024. The decision followed an extensive discussion lasting almost two hours, as everyone had a lot to say about the issues surrounding nudity and lewd behavior, that have been seen in years past. 

The discussion was eventful, with the word “nudity” being heard in almost every other sentence, because there was much back and forth about whether body painting is considered nudity, whether a fantasy zone should be included in the agreement, and even whether police should get involved, considering their help might be needed elsewhere. 

The fantasy zone is implicated in order to keep those that are participating in the event out of the eye of people that might be disinterested in the event, including children and elderly. Commissioner Sam Kaufman said, “If there’s no fantasy zone, I think we’ll have a problem with possible wanderers into our parts of town. I’d like to keep the fantasy zone.” However, Steve Robbins, president of the TDA, explained that there is nothing that’s allowed in the fantasy zone that’s not allowed out of the fantasy zone, so removing it would grant the same laws everywhere, and if nudity isn’t occurring on Duval, then it wont be occurring at all. Some exceptions to the rules around nudity, allowing for body painting only, were also brought up, and the debate continued to spiral. Commissioner Sam Kaufman said, “What has always been said to me is that if you’re not interested in Fantasy Fest, you stay in our part of town and I live a good two miles from the Fantasy Fest zone and we don’t have to see it if we don’t want to see it, but if we don’t have the Fantasy Fest zone that is a concern.” He goes on to say that if there is not fantasy zone, the city is at risk of having the entire event spilling everywhere. 

The discussion was lengthy, but eventually came to an end. City Attorney Shawn Smith suggested that the contract be passed, but with flexibility to alter the rules regarding the fantasy zone and nudity. He proposed that the commission add to the section of the contract that says “nudity and lewd acts will not be permitted”, that nudity and lewd acts will be specified by the section of the city code that allows for some exceptions for body paint and add that that section “may be amended from time to time”, granting the commission access to revisit and dictate what is considered nudity. The motion was passed 5-1, with Mayor Teri Johnston voting against it. 

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