30th King Mango Strut possesses the Grove

The 30th Annual King Mango Strut went off without a hitch, as usual. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun, the crowds seemed larger this year, maybe because it's New Year's Eve and everyone wanted to start partying early. That's Ron Magill from Zoo Miami, with a friend, yes, that's a large snake wrapped around Ron. The Strut Celebrity this year was Katy Sorenson, the never recalled/never indicted/never removed-by-the-governor, former commissioner of Miami-Dade County. She played the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz -- Glinda. I'll have photos of Katy tomorrow as part of our big slide show presentation of this year's Strut.


As usual, the parade started at 2 pm on the dot and lasted over an hour, everyone and everything that was in the news this year was parodied.


My friend, Patty Gonzalez, at right, was with her friends, and they knew how to enjoy the parade, with chilled wine and front row seats (and table) on Main Highway.


It's a colorful parade, like every year with lots to see and enjoy. This dude reminds me of that guy on Boardwalk Empire, you know, the one with the half face.


The crowds lined up along the route and all seemed to have good seats as the Strut winded its way around the Center Grove.


Audrey Scott, Grove Ambassador, worked in the Info Booth in the morning, then strutted as an dangerous African snail, with her group and then was back at her booth, helping tourists, at the end of the parade.

After the Strut, people hung out around the Grove and enjoyed themselves. I stuck around the end of Commodore Plaza with my friends at LoKal, the new burger place, and The Loft, next door, where Yvonne and Michael always treat us like family. I was exhausted and I didn't even march or strut. I hung out there for a long time enjoying seeing all the people who were enjoying the Grove. If only it could be like that all the time around here! Restaurants and bars were packed from one end of the village to the other.

Please come back tomorrow for a full slide show of the wacky events. Happy New Year!