“Island time” just got a bit quicker.
Did you watch the Key West holiday parade on Dec. 2? The whole three hours or so, start to finish, all 80 entries? That was a commitment.
Chris Sloan was there, at Duval and Fleming, his camera expertly trained on the passing festivities. And he’s made it possible to watch the entire parade online, in about 4½ minutes.
He was also at the Schooner Wharf Bar Lighted Boat Parade, the Wesley House BeLighted Bike Ride, the Custom House holiday light show and the various neighborhoods that sparkle with decorations throughout the island.
Sloan, an Emmy-winning television producer, has captured the best of Key West’s warm and whimsical holiday celebrations — and he’s condensed it all into a collection of time-lapse videos that he’s sharing with the Key West community, the Keys Weekly and the world via his YouTube channel, TimeFlies Travel Videos.
His compilation video, “Key West Ultimate Holiday Lights Tour and Events,” takes viewers from New Town neighborhoods to the Historic Seaport, which glows like a beacon every night during the holiday season.
“The idea was to celebrate the holidays in the southernmost city,” said Sloan (no relation to author and entrepreneur David L. Sloan IV). “We spent 10 days and nights capturing the city’s lights, decorations and events. There is so much eye candy and seasonal spirit we not only wanted to share it with the One Human Family of Key West and the world, but we also wanted to celebrate all the people and businesses that created this tropical ‘’tis the season’ wonderland for all to enjoy.”
Sloan worked with co-producer John McDonald and two Key West High School video production students, Will Forster and Valeria Juarez, to film, edit and format the footage. Sloan’s company, 2C Media, provided a sponsorship to send the two high school students to London, where they will film the Conch marching band’s New Year performance for a documentary.
Prior to launching 2C Media, Sloan held a number of executive creative, programming and production posts, including creative director for NBC Entertainment, vice president of reality programming for USA Networks, head of marketing for USA Broadcasting’s local TV stations, vice president of production for TLC Network and editor at Limelight Video, among other roles.
“We were so staggered by all the people willing to give of their time to present these holiday happenings, that we too wanted to give back with these series of videos, which is dedicated to the memory of Cheryl and Crystal Cates.”
Cheryl and Crystal Cates, the late wife and daughter of County Commissioner Craig Cates, died during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Sloan divides his time between Key West and Miami. The holiday videos are a prelude to his upcoming Key West TimeFlies series that will be finished early in 2024.
That series documents the entire island using time-lapse footage, drone photography and fast- paced editing meant to capture the city as it is from 2020-23 so it can be preserved as a video record for the future.
“Even in our three years of shooting, things have changed,” Sloan said, calling the project a labor of love. “These are my gifts to Key West from TimeFlies Travel Videos.”To view the videos for free, visit https://www.youtube.com/@TimeFliesTravelVideos.
