Key West rings in 2025 with "Red Shoe Drop"
KEY WEST - Thousands of revelers in subtropical Key West welcomed 2025 with the "drop" of female impersonator Randy Roberts perched in a super-sized red high-heel shoe.
The annual "Red Shoe Drop," staged outside the Bourbon St. Pub complex on the island's famed Duval Street, was one of Key West's warmer weather takeoffs on the traditional New Year's Eve "ball drop" in New York City's Times Square.
Elegantly dressed in a blue sequined gown encrusted with thousands of hand-applied rhinestones, Roberts -- a seasoned cabaret performer known for portraying divas including Cher and Bette Midler -- presided over the night's festivities while sitting in the giant red shoe that was suspended from the complex's second-story balcony.
"I never thought I'd be in the shoe, so it's a little surreal," said Roberts from his perch above the crowd. "The throngs of people and the energy are unbelievable - it's like a celebration of Key West.
"It's every bit of Key West in one little place," he added.
Seconds before midnight, Roberts was lowered in the shoe toward the street below. As the clock struck and 2025 began, he landed and raised a ceremonial bottle of champagne while the watching revelers cheered.
