Kids King Mango Strut heads to the Book Fair

There will be two King Mango Struts again this year! The 32 year old parade will hit the streets of Coconut Grove on December 29, but before that, there's a Kids King Mango Strut that is part of this year's Miami International Book Fair. You may remember there was a second parade in South Miami one year and in Wynwood another year.

In October, I was talking about new younger blood -- now they have it -- kids!

King Mango will get transfused this Saturday, November 23, when kids take over the 32-year tradition. Their new parade, "The Kid's King Mango Strut," will march through the Miami Book Fair at 10:30 am.  The procession is being produced by the Miami Book Fair and Glenn Terry, the guy who co-founded the Grove's grand parade and served as its director for 28 years.

"The Grove's mango parade isn't what it used to be," said Glenn. "This Saturday we're getting a fresh start in downtown Miami." The parade groups will be composed mostly of children using themes derived from the world of literature. Terry added, "There are books about everything so we're not too limited."

The children's procession will be simple and small. Groups will include, "The Reading Robots,"  "A Funeral Procession for Cursive Writing," and  "Kendall's Kindle Precision Drill Team."  Many young strutters will be dressed as their favorite authors and book characters. 

The Kid's King Mango Strut will begin at the fair's "Children's Alley" at NE 1st Street and NE 3rd Avenue. It will make its way around the entire fair until it winds up where it began.  Book fair admission is $8 adults, teen and seniors $5, and kids are free.

Come to the Miami Book Fair on Saturday morning and see how silly King Mango's kids can be.