Key West ‘drops a drag queen’ to kick off 2013

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Everyone knows that on New Year’s Eve, the ball drops in New York’s Times Square where millions gather to bring in the new year in style. But in Key West, there’s a different tradition entirely.

They drop a drag queen, in a giant high heeled shoe no less.

The man behind the celebration is Gary “Sushi” Marion, who’s perched in the shoe every New Year’s Eve for the last 16 years.

The party sounds like a good time, too. “You’ll have older gay men next to a family with kids, next to guys in leather, next to a bunch of rowdy bachelorettes,” he told a reporter. “Everybody’s welcome.”

This video is from The Associated Press, published Jan. 1, 2013.