Holy Culture Clash! Ybor City was festival central this past weekend, with Fiesta Day, Flan Fest and Southern Exposure vying for crowds from one end of Ybor to the other. Southern Exposure was the newest of the celebrations, a GaYbor carnival complete with midway, ferris wheel and a visitation from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the international sisterhood of white-faced fabulosity. Drag nuns from all over the country were in town to celebrate the Tampa Bay chapter's official graduation from Mission to Order status; Tampa's members, like their counterparts all over the world, raise funds for AIDS and gay-related causes while making saintly spectacles of themselves (and assuming hilarious names like Sister Ida Slapter).
On Saturday Creative Loafing talked with visiting and local members of the Sisterhood, and with Tom Keating, head of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2009.