Local businessman, author and visionary David Sloan is adding a new element to his diverse cultural pursuits that already include haunted history tours, several successful books and creation of the Key Lime Festival in Key West. Now, the author of “Quit Your Job and Move to Key West” has received approval and funding to produce the Florida Keys’ first-ever Centaur Festival, scheduled for the last week in October 2022.
“I’ve seen a lot of mermaids running around town for the past several years and I just kept thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we had something men could do for a change,’” said Sloan, referring to the spike in mermaid costumes and appearances around the Keys, along with the growing popularity of the Key West Mermaid Festival in recent years. “Don’t get me wrong, I love mermaids, I mean, I really love mermaids, but I feel the centaur — half-man, half-horse — better encapsulates the spirit of the Keys.”
“In Greek mythology, centaurs were characterized as wild and excitable; not evil, just uncivilized by Greek standards. In some stories, the centaurs were basically animals, but in others they were well-behaved and orderly — until they started drinking wine,” according to history professor Chris Muscato on study.com.
“How perfect is that for Key West?” said Sloan, who recently started designing his own inaugural centaur costume.
For Sloan, the vision of an island full of men dressed as half-man, half-horse, could be the start of a viral movement here in Monroe County and across the nation, perhaps the world.
“I really think the idea will take off once we launch this first event,” said Sloan. “We’ve already scheduled a centaur street parade, centaur body-painting contest, centaur rides for kids and a celebrity jousting tournament that includes our Key West mayor and George Fernandez of the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory.”
Sloan said he’s already received calls from popular towns in America like Centralia, Pennsylvania and the Villages in Florida, that will likely welcome a similar festival in their area. And Sloan is not alone in his quest to popularize the ancient Greek creature. Many other Key West business leaders have supported the idea, including DJ Sanaris, local CPA Scott Oropeza and local attorney and Key West city commissioner Sam Kaufman.
“Imagine you and your best buddy hitting the bars with 10 or 20 other centaurs,” said Key West’s Mark Hedden, who wrote his master’s thesis on centaurs’ impact on modern society and has been an outspoken advocate for the upcoming festival. “I’ve already designed a two-person costume that will allow the guy in the back to breathe through a hole and sip on a beer — if he uses a straw,” Hedden said.
While Sloan refers to the first year’s round of TDC funding as “modest” — $70,000 to promote the festival — he expects to double his request in 2023. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for those looking to get involved in this year’s centaur extravaganza.
“The $70,000 was really a no-brainer for the TDC,” said Sloan. “I purposefully chose to hold the festival in Key West during the last week of October because I wanted to do my part to add ‘heads in beds’ and contribute to our local economy during an otherwise traditionally slow week of the year.”
Sloan said he expects the centaur movement to expand beyond a singular festival or season. He said centaurs will be available for birthday parties, school events, ribbon-cuttings and fundraisers throughout the year.
For more on the upcoming Florida Keys Centaur Festival and an event schedule, visit keysweekly.com and search for other April 1 special edition articles.
