{"id":13354,"date":"2022-12-30T20:03:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-31T01:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?post_type=wfsu-news&p=13354"},"modified":"2022-12-30T21:09:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-31T02:09:14","slug":"legendary-key-west-drag-performer-sushi-plans-final-nye-shoe-drop","status":"publish","type":"wfsu-news","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/legendary-key-west-drag-performer-sushi-plans-final-nye-shoe-drop\/","title":{"rendered":"Legendary Key West Drag Performer Sushi Plans Final NYE Shoe Drop"},"content":{"rendered":"

KEY WEST, Fla.<\/b> — After 25 years of \u201cdropping\u201d in a giant red high-heeled shoe on New Year\u2019s Eve, elaborately dressed as legendary Key West drag queen \u201cSushi,\u201d Gary Marion is hanging up the heel.<\/p>\n

For a quarter of a century, Marion\u2019s alter ego Sushi has starred in the Bourbon St. Pub complex\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve festivities, a Florida Keys takeoff on New York City\u2019s Times Square ball drop that\u2019s dubbed the Red Shoe Drop.<\/p>\n

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Each December 31, wearing a lavish self-designed gown, Sushi perches in a super-sized replica of a woman\u2019s red shoe high above Key West\u2019s Duval Street, bantering with thousands of revelers below while entertainers perform on a streetside stage. Seconds before midnight, the red shoe-carrying Sushi is \u201cdropped\u201d from the complex\u2019s second-story balcony, landing amid fanfare and applause as the clock strikes 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I feel in the shoe is amazing,\u201d said Marion. \u201cIt\u2019s been a growth experience for me, because the first year I didn\u2019t know what was going on; I didn\u2019t realize that thousands and thousands of people would be watching me in a red shoe.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s exciting, it\u2019s sort of dangerous because you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on and you\u2019re above the whole audience \u2014 but I enjoy every minute of it,\u201d Marion said.<\/p>\n

Since its inception, the Red Shoe Drop has become so famous that it\u2019s often featured on national and international New Year\u2019s Eve television programs. Even so, Marion has determined that this will be Sushi\u2019s last year in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Plans call for the high-heeled happening to continue next New Year\u2019s Eve with a different drag queen, who is likely to be chosen during June\u2019s Key West Pride festival.<\/p>\n

But late Saturday night, as the final seconds of 2022 tick down to the dawn of 2023, Sushi is to \u201cdrop\u201d in the red shoe one last time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly how I\u2019m going to feel in the shoe at the moment, but I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to be very emotional for me,\u201d said Marion. <\/p>\n

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