King Mango Strut; today 2 pm

The King Mango Strut is today, December 29, right in the center of town. The banana will drop at 2 pm and the parade will begin.

This year's Grand Marshal is Rob Ford straight from Toronto.

The celebrity guest is classic jazz artist Joe Donato.  

Everything from the Grove's toxic parks to Anthony Weiner and his weiner will be parodied. 

The Pre-Parade activities begin at 1 pm at the corner of Commodore Plaza and Main Highway, with emcee Nathan Kurland hosting the Little Miss Mango Pageant (for kids 4-10).  

Parade begins at 2 pm. The parade route begins at the corner of Commodore Plaza and Main Highway.  It turns left onto Main Highway and turns left onto Grand Avenue at CocoWalk and back to Commodore Plaza. After the Parade, the streets will remain closed and the King Mango Music Massacre begins. Two bands will continue playing at the After Party on Commodore and one band at Cocowalk until the festivities end at 6 pm.

All this entertainment is free and open to the public. There is plenty of parking along or near the parade route at CocoWalk, Mayfair, Coconut Grove Playhouse on Main Highway and Charles Avenue, St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Coconut Grove Elementary School, the city garage at Oak Avenue and Mary Street, and the city garage next to Sonesta Hotel. 

If you don't want to drive, take the Metrorail to the Coconut Grove Station. There will be shuttle buses (the Coconut Grove Circulator) picking up parade-goers every 15 minutes at the station and dropping them one block from the parade route. 

The parade will be live online starting at 1:30 pm at www.ArtsandCultureTV.com.

And we'll be sharing photos on our Facebook page and Twitter Feed. Follow us on both!