Us and a little beer what it takes to create a fantasy

It’s time to start building the old Fantasy Fest float again.

Our trusty trailer for the last three years has finally given up the ghost and we’ve been forced to go to a new and improved version that we hope will not have the flaws that the old one had.

This trailer has weight capacity that even we can’t exceed, and it has enough room that we can build pretty much anything we wish and still be able to put people on wherever we need them.

But it still has its design challenges.

And the most challenging aspect of any float that is meant to be hauled through the parade that is Fantasy Fest is the challenge of making sure people can stay on the thing after a few cocktails.

Every year we invite a band down from St. Petersburg. One of the members has a home here on Big Pine, so we don’t feel like we’re slighting the local guys. And they play only rock-n-roll music, the music from our era, so we feel comfortable with them.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the lead guitar player and vocalist is a friend of ours, so we get a break.

And the name of the band is Out of Control. It is absolutely appropriate for the bunch we have on the float every year.

And they understand that a floating stage can have its drawbacks. They’re OK with that.

We do what we can to make sure everyone has a safe and fun evening. We install hand holds every few feet so the number of cocktails isn’t usually an issue.

This year, however, the theme for the parade, “Habitat for Insanity” sent the brain of yours truly into overdrive.

We wanted to stay away from the loony bin theme, and we wanted to stay away from the conservative homebuilder theme.

And we hit on what we think is going to be a hoot. Our float will be an island castaway theme, where the people have been stuck too long, and mental illness has become the norm.

We never dictate costuming, so we fully expect to have a few schizophrenics with two faces, a manic depressive wielding an axe, some zany psychiatrists with extra appendages, and I believe we’re even going to have a cross dressing coconut clothier.

The engineering on this one has proven to be a little bit more—shall we say—testy than in years past.

One of our eclectic group decided that since every island where people manage to survive for enough time to go nuts must have a fresh water supply, we should have a waterfall.

Have you ever tried to install a working waterfall on a platform that constantly moves?

We never had. But I think we finally have that one figured out. With a sump pump and a plumbed in shower head, we believe we have solved the problem. The waterfall gives us two advantages. One, we won’t be hot because we can just step under the waterfall to cool off. Two, we have a ready-made source of cool water from which we can drink at any time.

Of course, we’ve also never seen a float with a working waterfall, so we think it will be unique enough to draw some attention.

Every isolated island also needs a volcano, a bridge to get around and a handy assortment of sea life.

We have spent the better part of two weeks figuring out ways to make all of those elements work together. We have a very talented group.

And we also have a ready supply of cold beer very close by that helps with the creative process you know.

If we get stuck on a particular problem, we go for a cold one. The answer usually comes to us in short order.

Of course, we usually have to change the original solution somewhere down the road, but by then—we really don’t care.

You will see us I’m sure if you attend the Fantasy Fest parade. Just look for the float that has a running waterfall.

We’re looking forward to it again.

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