Key West Pride Kicks Off
scott, June 9th, 2011 
It’s hard to imagine the “conchs” (locals) of Key West partying more energetically than they do on any other week of the year, but that is what will happen at the annual Key West Pride celebration, June 8-12. According to Steve Smith, with the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, all the exclusively gay guest houses on the island are sold out for Pride, but there are still great accommodations to be had, and given the fact that the terrain is perfect for a rental bike or moped, you’ll be close to everything no matter where your bed is. This five-day Pride celebration includes a film festival, dance parties, stellar stand-up comedians, drag shows, bike tours, Pride pageants, pool parties, water excursions, a street fair, and a ‘Pride in our Community’ Parade down Duval Street.
If you are a gay ghetto ghoul who typically gets crazy only with your own tribe, Key West Pride may convert you to the merits of mixed shenanigans. Always an island where straight and gay men and women get down together, Key West is true to its motto, “One Human Family,” and Pride Week offers the full spectrum of gay fun from the family-oriented to the very adult with lots of overlap. Someday, there will be a study of kids who grew up in Key West. I predict they will be deemed the happiest and most well-adjusted adults on earth.
To illustrate the delirious mix, annual Pride pageants abound. These very adult competitions leave little to the imagination as contestants heat-up the runway in fierce effort to earn the Pride titles. Miss Pride (men dressed as women) is held at 801 on Wednesday June 8. Ms. Pride — with categories including interview, first-date-wear, sleepwear and dance — is held at Aqua on Thursday June 9, and Mr. Pride (men barely dressed) is held at Bourbon on Friday June 10.
Click here for gay travel resources in Key West.
Categories: Uncategorized gay pride, gay travel, key west, Uncategorized
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