Update: 4:05 p.m. Sept. 2
The Key West City Commission deadlocked 3-3 at its Tuesday evening meeting on the question of whether to recommend that local trick-or-treaters wait till Nov. 1. So local parents and kids are free to go ahead with their traditional walks for candy, even as the partying carries on downtown.
Trick-or-treating or partying? It's a tough choice for Key West.
That's especially true this year, when the city's biggest annual party, Fantasy Fest, lands on Halloween.
On Tuesday, the Key West City Commission is scheduled to consider a proposal from its city manager to suggest trick-or-treating be delayed by one day, until Nov. 1.
Usually, trick-or-treating is postponed for local kids. That way they're not wandering around on the same island as tens of thousands of drunk, scantily clad revelers. Fantasy Fest also absorbs most of the island's police and public safety efforts.
Since Fantasy Fest started in 1979, the parade has been scheduled for the last Saturday in October. Some years, that falls on the last day of the month — Halloween. The Saturday night Fantasy Fest parade caps off the 10-day festival and bringing an estimated 60,000 people to the downtown area.
The proposal is meant to keep local kids safe, but this year it's facing serious backlash.
Led by City Commissioner Tony Yaniz, and fueled on social media, a Facebook event supporting trick-or-treating on Oct. 31 had more than 300 attendees by Monday afternoon.
