'Red Shoe Drop' with new star highlights Key West New Year's Eve
KEY WEST - New Year's Eve revelers in Key West marked 2024's arrival by watching the "drop" of a super-sized red high-heel shoe carrying female impersonator Christopher Peterson, the shoe's new "passenger" who succeeded drag queen "Sushi," a veteran of 25 previous drops.
Thousands of people gathered outside the Bourbon St. Pub complex on the island's Duval Street for the Red Shoe Drop, a lighthearted takeoff on New York City's Times Square ball drop.
Peterson assumed the event's starring role after Sushi stepped down as a New Year's Eve icon following last year's celebration. Peterson is renowned for his longstanding one-man cabaret show, where he portrays famous women including Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Joan Rivers, and Lady Gaga.
Dressed in a glamorous self-designed gown, he presided over the night's festivities and entertainment - all while perched in the giant ruby slipper, suspended high above the crowd from the complex's second-story balcony.
Then, as the final seconds of 2023 ticked away, Peterson was lowered in the shoe toward the street below. The audience erupted in cheers as he landed and raised a bottle of champagne to welcome 2024.
Revelers also celebrated in Key West by watching several other "drops" including that of a gigantic manmade conch shell, the symbol of the Florida Keys; and a "pirate wench" who descended from atop a tall ship's mast.
Activities elsewhere in the Keys included waterfront fireworks, beach parties, and galas to greet 2024.