Kick it OFF!

Caribbean Queen and her Junkanoos took their cowbells, drums and whistles down Duval to the Coronation Ball Friday night -- and oh, what a good time.

The city closed off the street, and La Te Da set up tables (we paid to sit down with six new friends, and get a buffet platter with them), and Jeremy brought us drinks and we clapped and sang along and cried and danced while former Fantasy Fest kings and queens entertained, and the current contenders wowed us again with their dedication.

The result was more than $200,000 for AIDS Help, and this on an island of 24,000.

Chris won for king, Mary Lou for queen -- and every one of the contenders won our hearts. We got our first beads of the season, and a rose, and were the first couple up for the street dance. We boogied good.

Harry Sawyer, the county supervisor of elections, presided over the ballot tally, and two things struck us: one, that buying the election (with a nonprofit contribution) was actually encouraged without hypocrisy; and two, that an old-conch official elected countywide was such an enthusi- astic participant -- not bad for a straight guy, and a far cry from anything you'd see up on the mainland.

And when Mary Lou and Chris won, the skies opened up (it had only been sprinkling before, not enough to offset the sweat), and everyone cheered and wet home slick with joy and tropical rain.

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Did I mention that Chris was in white tie, tails and flip-flops?