Attacks Can’t Stop Revelers From Turning Out for Fantasy Fest

In this southernmost city in the contiguous United States, things are starting to get back to normal, which is why Bob Bargamin came here, donned an oversize Uncle Sam hat and was out ogling on Duval Street over the weekend.

“I forget who said this, but living well is the best revenge,” said the 52-year-old real estate executive from St. Petersburg, Fla.

“America Strikes Back by Partying” was the headline suggested by friend Mike Dedeian, 60, a retired psychological counselor. “This is what America is all about--doing what you want to do, and not getting hassled.”

In a quarter-century, Fantasy Fest, this laid-back island’s 10-day autumnal celebration of masks, costumes and often outrageous and flesh-baring behavior, has become both a tradition and a $35-million annual industry.

But the Sept. 11 hijackings battered tourism in the Florida Keys, the string of small islands that stretch southwest from the Florida peninsula toward Cuba. Fifty percent of the local work force is employed by tourism, and as Americans became reluctant to fly, average weekend hotel occupancy in the Keys fell from 90% to the high teens.

“The tourism business looks forward to Fantasy Fest to provide an economic shot in the arm, and also, quite frankly, there’s a feeling that a lot of people out there sort of need a respite from this horrendous and tragic situation,” said Andy Newman, a spokesman for the local tourism industry. “I go back to what the president said, which is to get back to normal. It’s an executive directive. And that’s what Key West is trying to do.”

Normal, that is, for Key West.

Throughout the weekend, for instance, male revelers disguised as Hooters waitresses, French maids, hula dancers and brides thronged the streets here.

Catherine Ingram, 21, and Mary Holmes, 23, bank tellers from Palm Beach County, were among hundreds of women to travel to Key West to have their chests painted, then stroll around the island topless. They chose a daisy motif. “At first, it feels a bit awkward, but then it seems normal,” Holmes said.

Monroe County sheriff’s deputies said the complete state of undress was illegal, but nobody here seemed to mind. “This place is like an X-rated movie,” one middle-aged woman said. “If you don’t want to see it, don’t go into the zone.”

Fantasy Fest’s crescendo came Saturday night, with a parade down Key West’s main drag. There were floats and impromptu guests of honor from the New York City Fire Department, who were greeted with cheers and an ovation.

The eight firefighters, members of their department’s volleyball team, had scheduled a Fantasy Fest vacation before the terrorist attacks. When two teammates were killed in the World Trade Center towers’ collapse, they almost canceled the trip. Rob Carlo, 38, whose brother Mike was killed, said he would have loved the festival.

“Me and my brother lived by the same code, that you don’t know if tomorrow is going to come,” Carlo said. “You got to enjoy each day to the fullest. And I know more than everything, he would want us to be doing this. I’m sure he’s happy that Fantasy Fest went on and that we all came down here and marched in his honor.”

Another New York firefighter, Bill Miccio, said he had reservations about coming because “our wounds are still open, still bleeding,” but that the crowd’s reaction warmed his heart. “I felt like everybody was saying, ‘We feel your pain,’ ” Miccio said.

Not that Key West itself escaped the recent events. Before Fantasy Fest kicked off Oct. 19, there were at least nine anthrax scares, which forced the closure of City Hall, a federal office building and the local newspaper.

Attendance was down this year from the estimated 70,000 tourists who packed the island in 2000, and the parade was shorter. An estimated 50,000 revelers attended the parade. Last year, more than 100 people were arrested; this year, there were 26 arrests, sheriff’s officials said.

Though commercially this 2001 Fantasy Fest may have been less dazzling than in years past, people here called it an expression of the country’s indomitable spirit. One participant even brought along a sculpture of Osama bin Laden’s head on a platter to carry through the street.

“This is America, this is freedom,” said Tripp Sanders, 42, who said he was about to be discharged from the Army. “This is America at its best and nobody is going to be able to defeat this, no one, nowhere, no how.”

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Reuters contributed to this report.