For 16 years, Gary "Sushi" Marion has taken center stage on New Year's Eve in Key West, Florida, as the star of the annual "shoe drop."
New Year's Eve with 'Sushi' —
For 16 years, Gary "Sushi" Marion has taken center stage on New Year's Eve in Key West, Florida, as the star of the annual "shoe drop."
AFP via Getty Images
It takes Marion two hours to transform into Sushi.
New Year's Eve with 'Sushi' —
It takes Marion two hours to transform into Sushi.
Kim Segal/CNN
Marion appears as Sushi at the New Year's Eve celebration in 2001.
New Year's Eve with 'Sushi' —
Marion appears as Sushi at the New Year's Eve celebration in 2001.
Mike Holla/AFP/Getty Images
Marion shows off the dress he made for New Year's Eve in 2011. Every year, he spends months designing and making the dress for the annual event. He wears it only once.
New Year's Eve with 'Sushi' —
Marion shows off the dress he made for New Year's Eve in 2011. Every year, he spends months designing and making the dress for the annual event. He wears it only once.
Kim Segal/CNN
Marion as Sushi gets inside an 8-foot-long red shoe, made out of fiberglass and stainless steel. The shoe is lowered over the last hour of the old year to ring in the new one.
New Year's Eve with 'Sushi' —
Marion as Sushi gets inside an 8-foot-long red shoe, made out of fiberglass and stainless steel. The shoe is lowered over the last hour of the old year to ring in the new one.
Kim Segal/CNN
The shoe drop festivities were once the place for Key West's gay community to ring in the new year. Today, the crowd is a mixture of tourists and locals from every walk of life.
New Year's Eve with 'Sushi' —
The shoe drop festivities were once the place for Key West's gay community to ring in the new year. Today, the crowd is a mixture of tourists and locals from every walk of life.
Florida Keys Bureau/Newman Public Relations