Hundreds of loyal subjects and members of Fantasy Fest royalty spanning decades celebrated with Key West glitz at the Coffee Butler Amphitheater on Oct. 17 as Joe Wooten and Cindy Bensen were crowned the 2025 King and Queen of Fantasy Fest. Mina Valdez and Floyd Jenkins (aka Pepa Mahogany) were installed as Duchess and Duke to complete this year’s royal court.
Since 1989, Fantasy Fest Royalty have achieved their titles through annual fundraising campaigns that take place over multiple weeks. This year, the four competitors raised a total of $353,538 to benefit the Florida Keys SPCA.
Friday’s coronation marks three years since the Florida Keys SPCA took the reins of the Royal Campaign. In 2022, after decades of organizing the competition and benefitting from its proceeds, AH Monroe Executive Director Scott Pridgen and Fantasy Fest board chair Steve Robbins announced it was time to pass the torch. The Tourist Development Association selected the Florida Keys SPCA to take over as planner, organizer, producer and beneficiary, launching a new era for a competition that has crowned 67 King and Queen pairings and raised more than $5.5 million in 36 years.
Since then, campaign proceeds have enabled the FKSPCA to purchase a fully equipped mobile vet clinic and dramatically expand community outreach – including spay/neuter services, wellness programs, kids’ clubs, animal behavioral training and a Safe Haven program for pets whose owners are in emergency situations, said FKSPCA executive director Tammy Fox.
The coronation festivities included dinner and a two-hour stage show with performances by the candidates and a roster of special guests, co-hosted by Erin McKenna and Bria Ansara. The evening also included a tribute to the late Christopher Elwell, 2010 Fantasy Fest King, highlighted by the inaugural presentation of the “Christopher Elwell Royal Award” to 2015 Fantasy Fest Queen Jodyrae Campbell.
The newly crowned Royal Court will appear at multiple 2025 Fantasy Fest events and serve as imperial ambassadors until the 2026 competition, and as Emeritus Royalty in perpetuity.
This year’s “Bedtime Stories & Magical Monsters” themed Fantasy Fest features more than 100 events including Goombay Festival, the wildly enchanting Pet Masquerade, the Captain Morgan Masquerade March, and the world famous Deep Eddy Vodka Fantasy Fest Parade.
