New Year's Eve revelers in subtropical Key West enjoyed several offbeat warmer-weather takeoffs on New York City's traditional Times Square "ball drop" -- including the 25th annual "drop" of a drag performer dubbed “Sushi” in a super-sized red high-heel shoe.
Thousands of people flocked to Key West's famed Duval Street outside the Bourbon St. Pub complex for the Red Shoe Drop that starred Gary Marion, portraying Sushi, perched in the giant ruby slipper.
The descent is likely to be Sushi’s last, since the legendary drag queen has announced that she plans to pass the starring role to a successor.
Dressed in a lavish “silver anniversary” ensemble befitting her 25th “drop” in the shoe, Sushi presided over festivities and live entertainment prior to being lowered from the complex’s balcony seconds before midnight.
Revelers in Key West also celebrated by watching a gigantic manmade conch shell, the symbol of the Florida Keys, descend to the flat roof of Sloppy Joe's Bar, a former hangout of author Ernest Hemingway.
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Other scheduled island city “drops” included those of a huge reproduction Key lime wedge, a “flight attendant” in a section of a replica aircraft, an imitation tuna and a woman dressed as a pirate wench who descended from atop a tall ship’s mast.
Elsewhere in the Florida Keys, waterfront fireworks displays and countdown parties welcomed 2023.
