Cornyation kicks off with 'Flying Footwear'

It's still Fiesta here in San Antonio. And I attended one of my favorite events - Cornyation. It's the "raunchiest, cheapest event of Fiesta." Just my style. And where else would the City Manager (that's her below) sport spandex onstage while dancing with drag queens? She can work it, though, with her runner's body. Some of the drag queens, on the other hand. . .

So, here is the San Antonio Express News coverage:

By Lindsay Kastner - Express-News

There is probably nowhere else where the city manager goes by the name of King Anchovy, dresses up as Superwoman and shares a stage with drag queens during raunchy spoofs of everything from an upcoming mayoral election to a raid on a polygamist ranch.

Through Thursday, San Antonio — at least some of San Antonio — is proud to be that place.
Cornyation 2009 kicked off its annual lampoon of current events Tuesday night at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre complete with a send-up of Facebook and a brawl between Etta James and Beyonce Knowles. The audience loved a skit spoofing the Yearning for Zion ranch, especially when the polygamists revealed their fishnet hose.

This year's show, “The Court of Fancy Flying Footwear,” takes its name from last year's incident in which an Iraqi journalist aimed his shoe at then-President George W. Bush.
Coordinator Ray Chavez said he worried — he didn't actually sound too worried — that some audience members might start tossing chanclas on stage. People used to throw tortillas but they're now banned. “The cleaning bill was outrageous,” said Chavez, plus someone in the audience got whacked and filed a lawsuit.

Cornyation began in the 1950s at Night in Old San Antonio, but that didn't last.
“It got too zany for the Conservation Society,” Chavez said. “One of the costumed babies lost his diaper and we were asked not to come back.” Since then, the show has had a number of homes before landing at the Empire about six years ago, Chavez said. It's an official Fiesta event and a fundraiser for several charities.

The title of King Anchovy goes to someone in the city spotlight, but if you covet the crown, you're out of luck. Cornyation organizers began courting City Manager Sheryl Sculley, who said she has no theatrical experience, well before Tuesday's opening night. “Two years ago,” she said, laughing as she made her way to the stage for the second act.

The show was the third Cornyation for spectator Veronica Cortez, who was trying with limited success to carry an armful of drinks from the bar back to her seats. “It's the absolute best show,” she said, praising a skit about the mayoral race, which somehow managed to mix feather boas with songs from the musical “Grease.” “It's the best show of Fiesta,” she said.

Photo credit: BILLY CALZADA