Key West 'Drag Race' Features Female Impersonators Sprinting In High Heels
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
KEY WEST (CBSMiami/NSF) – It's always a good time in Key West.
High heels instead of high octane powered contestants in Key West's Great Conch Republic Drag Race, a madcap marathon for female impersonators.
Designed to showcase drag stars instead of dragsters, the wacky event staged late Saturday afternoon featured contestants in wigs, makeup and outrageously high heels racing down Duval Street, Key West's aptly nicknamed "main drag."
The contest's challenges included navigating an obstacle course of automobile tires, walking a balance beam and maneuvering souped-up shopping carts.
Contestants were handicapped based on the height of their heels above the regulation minimum three inches.
Organizers at the Bourbon St. Pub said that 1,700 spectators lined the street to see the "girls" sprint and stagger through the course while trying to avoid stumbling or breaking a heel.
The event is part of the annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration that commemorates the Florida Keys' symbolic 1982 secession from the United States.
Festivities including a sea battle featuring historic tall ship "battle" and a bed race, billed as "the most fun you can have in bed with your clothes on," through Sunday, May 1.
The News Service of Florida's Andy Newman contributed to this report.