By John M. Hayden
All rise and pay respect to your Imperial Sun Court’s Reigning Empress, Miss Candy Cox. A fixture in the South Florida drag community for a decade, these days she reigns over the Imperial Sun Court of All Florida, our state’s chapter in the International Court System. Haven’t heard of it? That’s okay. Our chapter just formed early in 2018. The Court selects its Emperor, Empress or Emprex, who then picks charities to benefit over their year long reign. Candy Cox, aka Kendall Shoffner, talked with me about the challenges of starting the chapter, and how it’s already making a difference in South Florida.
“We go in and help others raise money one dollar at a time,” Kendall told me, while talking about the charities they chose for the year. “We tried to select a variety of different organizations, including kids (back to school drive and Toys for Tots), pets, seniors, Transgender Youth Camp, Hurricane Relief, TransSocial, The SMART Ride, IGNITE Women SF, and Compass Community Center that are near and dear for me and my Emperor.” One month they worked with Bridge Outreach, an organization that helps teach sign language to families where some members are deaf. “They teach the kids sign language and the parents sign language. Then there’s communication at home.” That was chosen because the reigning Emperor, John Walters, was raised in that type of family. In December they worked with Pet Project, which helps care for pets when their owners get sick.
Candy and the Court members do a two hour FUNdraiser show every month at The Pub. You don’t have to do drag to join, the Sun Court has a wealth of queens, and Kendall says that makes their job more entertaining, and easier. “We are fortunate to have a lot of drag entertainers, because some courts don’t have that, so they have to resort to garage sales and bake sales and car washes.” This past year we also have had a yard sale, a Progressive Dinner, and a Night in Rome Pasta dinner, all were successful fundraisers.
The International Court System was formed in San Francisco in 1965 by the fabulous drag queen Jose Sarria. Florida is the newest Court, # 70 and it’s growing and already big on pomp and pageantry. We have doubled our membership this year. When the Empress and Emperor were announced, they had a third party accounting firm come out with the results in an envelope at Coronation. Up until that point only the accounting firm knows who is elected. They aren’t messing around with their elections. “My role as Empress of the Court is to grow the membership, FUNdraising and, if we see Court members who are interested in becoming a leader and take on this role, we have to start mentoring them and help them along the way.”
Candy Cox was well prepared to be Empress, but how she came into existence is a story unto itself. “Candy Cox started on a dare.” It goes back to Scandals Saloon. “They had a country fair every October. They decided each country fair had to have a Queen, so they went with Corn Queen.” Friends wanted Kendall to compete, but he wasn’t sure about the idea. They persisted. “They said as a kid, trick or treating, did you like candy corn? I said yes I did, of course. They said you’re Candy Cornhole.”
This was a full-on competition. “I entered the contest, but it wasn’t about lip syncing. We had to dress hay-wear for day-wear, farmer-wear for formal-wear, and I didn’t have a lot of stuff.” Kendall wasn’t liking Candy’s chances. Then came the surprise of the night: a talent competition. “A timed event of shucking corn, and the second talent was pig calling. Well I was raised in North Carolina, my dad’s a country boy, so I beat everybody out on pig calling. So I was Candy Cornhole and I was the first Corn Queen.”
The victory soon led to Candy hosting a night of Bingo for over five years. “It’s about making them laugh and making them have fun at Bingo.” Candy Cornhole eventually transformed into the Candy Cox we know and love today, but her first incarnation lives on. “The Cornhole will not go away. I can walk into a bar and hear ‘Hi Miss Corn! Hi Miss Hole!’ It won’t go away, but it’s okay. You can’t forget your past or where you started.”
Now, as the Imperial Sun Court marks its second anniversary, Candy and Kendall prepare to pass the title of Empress to someone new but will continue to help grow the chapter and the organization. This year we have four awesome candidates that are campaigning for Emperor and Empress. The new Monarchs will be announced on January 25, 2020 at Coronation 2, Hollywood – Glitz and Glam. And Kendall says anyone who joins can feel that they are a part of something bigger. “New friendships, the sense of family, camaraderie. But ultimately, our purpose is charity and giving to the community. It’s a lot of hours, a lot of hard work. But you get a sense of accomplishment.”
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If you want to learn more about the Imperial Sun Court of All Florida, check out their website at www.ImperialSunCourtFL.org.
