Recognized for its outlandish costumes and unconventional entertainment, the King Mango Strut—a parade that takes place every December in Coconut Grove—could potentially disappear this year. Organizers Glenn Terry and Antoinette Baldwin disagree over a plan to grow the parade and the ownership of the Strut's trademark.
“I believe the King Mango Strut should continue to be a small-town parade in a big city,” said Terry in Saturday's The Miami Herald. “It has been successful for so long for that very reason. Others think the parade, and its budget, need to grow.”
Terry is the Strut's owner and has served as creative director since co-founding the event with Bill Dobson in 1982. He was also its chief organizer until 2001, when Baldwin took over while continuing as treasurer. Terry then took a larger role in planning after the 2006 event, which had men on Harleys leading the parade—a decision of Baldwin's he didn't agree with.
Terry also said that Baldwin has been holding up the funding from the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District since she is bothered by the fact that he alone, and not the King Mango Strut organization, holds the trademark for the Strut's name and logo.
On September 4 The Herald reported that Dobson co-signed the check Terry used to trademark the title Florida: King Mango Strut Inc. in 2004. (Dobson died in October 2004.) Terry listed himself as sole owner of the festival on the trademark, a fact unknown to Baldwin at the time. She has since told the newspaper she believes the festival belongs to everyone.
District representative and Miami commissioner Marc Sarnoff called for mediation between the two parties to end the disputes. The alternative? "I'll play Solomon and cut them in half, and they wouldn't like my solution,'' Sarnoff told The Herald.
The city’s local blog, the Coconut Grove Grapevine, reported today that both parties have separately requested funding from the Business Improvement District and both applications had been denied as a result of two forms being submitted for the same event.
