2025 Conch Republic Independence Days Celebration Takes of Key West

Hundreds of spectators lined Key West’s ‘main drag’ — known round the world as Duval Street — to watch contestants complete a timed obstacle course. The crowd went wild as ‘drag queens’ stepped gracefully through tires, tested their balance on a beam and rode in a shopping cart that weaved through traffic cones…all while wearing high heels.

This quirky competition qualifies as one of those “only-in-Key-West” events, where crashes, stumbles and lost wigs are all part of the fun! In fact, these high-performance “divas” do their best to out-do each other.

The gravity-defying, high-heeled hilarity at the drag race is part of the 43rd annual Conch Republic Independence Days celebration that salutes the Florida Keys’ symbolic 1982 secession from the United States to form the fabled Conch Republic. 

The 2025 Conch Republic Independence Days celebration runs through Sunday, April 27, with upcoming events including a lighthearted “sea battle,” featuring tall ships battling the U.S. Coast Guard with water cannons, and a Conch Republic parade billed as the “world’s longest,” because it stretches from the Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean — a distance of 1.25 miles on Key West’s famed Duval Street.

Photo: (From left to right) This fiercely festive clown competes in a heat with Francis Cappello as they take on the balance beam during the ‘Drag Races’ in Key West, Fla. April 19, 2025. Scores of spectators lined famed Duval Street to cheer on contestants as they expertly navigated the obstacle course. The event is part of Key West’s 10-day Conch Republic Independence Celebration. Credit: Mark Hedden/Florida Keys News Bureau