Fabulous crowns, fierce performances, and a ceremony fit for an Empress and Emperor. The Imperial Sun Court of All Florida held its investiture ceremony at Richardson Park in Wilton Manors on Saturday, May 1.
RaeJean Cox was crowned Sun Empress and Imperial Mike was crowned Sun Emperor, and will reign over the court for the coming year.
The party, Invest-a-Mayo, had a Cinco de Mayo theme, with the pavilion decked out in bright festive colors, a taco truck keeping everyone fed, and a bartender pouring the tequila.
A DJ was spinning tunes to keep the vibe going, and several drag queens performed and brought the crowd to its feet. The event had a mix of solemnity and irreverence that kept things fun and the crowd laughing.
The Sun Court is a philanthropic organization that raises money for several South Florida charities including Compass and SunServe. They are part of the International Court System and one of 65 chapters in North America and together they make up the second-largest LGBT organization in the world.
Their goal is to raise money and have fun doing it. This past year they took their events online and branched out beyond their legendary performances.
Those included holding a cannonball splash contest, an online dress auction, a booming business designing and selling fashionable masks. Despite not being able to mingle among their royal subjects The Court still raised $25,000.
This is the second year of Empress RaeJean and Emperor Mike’s reign. Because of the pandemic they weren’t able to get out and carry out all of their ideas for The Court and their causes, so they are staying on for an “out and about” year.
“This is what we do this for,” RaeJean said. “Being out in the community having fun, being social and raising money.”
They’re off to a good start. Performers at the investiture brought in more than $1,400 in tips. That money plus proceeds from a raffle will be put back into the community.
Planning for the year’s events is already underway. To see what’s coming up, donate, or become a member, you can check out their website ImperialSunCourtFL.org.
