Her smile could light up Key West during a late-night power outage, and her infectious laugh invites everyone around her to share the joke or the joy that inspired it. Fritzie Estimond, whether directing a Key West Business Guild festival or welcoming newcomers to the guild’s visitor center, is quick to offer both.
Yet after she moved to the island from Fort Lauderdale in December 2010, it took her about two years to become comfortable with island life and the small-town closeness she now cherishes.
“I’m from a community where you stay focused, mind your business and do what you need to do — so I had to get used to the smallness of it, and literally going anywhere and running into people I knew,” she said. “But the thing that made me very reluctant to open up to the island is the same thing that has allowed me to embrace it.”
Once under Key West’s spell, Estimond quickly became an integral part of the local scene. In the fall of 2017 she was hired as the events coordinator for the Key West Business Guild and has held that title ever since. About 18 months ago, she also took on the position of associate director of the organization that promotes LGBT tourism for Key West.
“Outside of hosting the four events we do annually — Key West Pride, Womenfest, Tropical Heat and Headdress Ball — we do event guides for each one, host monthly luncheons and mixers as a member-based organization, do map and directory ad sales, and manage a visitor center,” Estimond said. “The duties are pretty endless, so we try to balance it all.”
Somehow, the daunting list of responsibilities doesn’t seem to dampen her good humor or the air of calm confidence she projects.
She also has a part-time side job working the desk at The Studios of Key West, volunteers with Metropolitan Community Church’s “Cooking With Love” program and wherever else she can, and periodically acts in Key West theater productions.
“I’m still trying to figure out my relationship with being on the stage, because it’s very nerve-wracking for me — it challenges me every night,” said Estimond, who appeared in the Waterfront Playhouse’s “The Vagina Monologues” last January and will perform in a Red Barn Theatre show next season.
Each Sunday, however, the woman who thrives on challenges stays home, avoids social media, and gives herself a full day to recharge in the private space she calls her cocoon.
She also thrives on spending time with her girlfriend of two years, Chantal Pavageaux, and Pavageaux’s 15-year-old poodle mix Louie — who, Estimond says, apparently thinks he’s her boyfriend.
Those quieter intervals are necessary as she’s usually surrounded by people during her working hours. With her boundless energy and smiling air of command, Estimond is especially visible during the special events she coordinates for the guild — whether she’s supervising social gatherings at September’s Womenfest, directing volunteers at a festival street fair, or ensuring that June’s Pride Parade runs smoothly.
“The parade is always what brings it all together for me and puts everything into perspective,” she said. “The months and months of preparation that lead to this one final day, and going down Duval Street and seeing all these people celebrating alongside you — that always brings a feeling that I hope never goes away.”
She’s particularly grateful for the active local support and sponsorship of LGBTQ events, and strives to communicate Key West’s supportive character to festival attendees and guests at the guild’s visitor center.
Estimond sees the visitor center as a place where she can expand perceptions and knowledge about the island.
“Especially for those that have never been here, I like creating a new experience and providing new information that they might not know about Key West,” she said. “So I try to figure out what their story is and what brings them here in the first place, and then I can suggest what things they should look into.”
While she too enjoys traveling, Estimond has discovered — much to her own surprise — that she misses the island too much to stay away for more than a week at a time. In fact, the woman who initially resisted Key West’s pull now credits it with helping her become her authentic self.
“I’ve grown up so much here and I’ve learned so much here,” she said, flashing her irresistible smile. “The true sense of what community is, accepting the melting pot of people, the kinds of food I eat, paying more attention to real issues … the island has a way of choosing its people, and I was certainly chosen.”
