Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2822
July 20, 2023- July 26, 2023
Pop Off, Queens! Gulfport gears up for GeckoFest by offering opportunities to celebrate the end of summer with flare and Gecko fashion. The annual Gecko Ball brings the community together for a night of live music, dancing, costume contests, and the Gecko Queen coronation. The 2023 ball marks 10 years of Gecko queens. This year’s theme is “Around the World in 80 Geckos,” which people voted on through social media channels. The Gecko Queen is a gender-neutral competition between self-nominating adults who are 21 years and older. The queen must exemplify the spirit of Gulfport: positivity, charisma, high energy, kindness, and compassion. The Gecko Queen will get crowned at the Gecko Ball and maintain royalty for a year, reigning as the honorary queen and acting as an ambassador for the city’s social scene. The Gulfport Merchants Chamber made changes to how the Queen is selected this year. Instead of a committee decision, the communi-
CATHY SALUSTRI
By Elana Boses
2014 Gecko Queen Wesley Ray (left) shares a moment with 2013 Gecko Queen Faun Weaver (right) after his crowning at the 2014 Gecko Ball.
ty votes in their Gecko Queen. “Voting will be open to the public,” GMC President Missy Helmbold says. “And begins on July 22 online at visitgulfportflorida.com.” This is really a love story between these contestants and their community, where each of the hopeful
Queens expresses their undying love for Gulfport. Although they have different hangouts, haunts, and secret spots around Gulfport, all of them embrace diversity and express their devotion to community. Now, let’s meet our contestants! Queen continued on page 9
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