SEATTLE GAY NEWS
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3
FEBRUARY 17, 1978

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On Saturday evening February 11, more than 1,500 people (both gay and straights) gathered at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall to witness Seattle's Seventh Annual Coronation Ball.

Originally scheduled for the Seattle Center Arena, the Ball was moved to the Exhibition Hall partly because of the demand for table seating and partly because of a scheduling conflict with the Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament. [...]

Don and Bublz promised some surprises for this year's Coronation, which were soon evident in that the entrance of the candidates was one of the first events scheduled for the evening. Despite a few minor complications, the entrances, as always, were very entertaining. Especially noteworthy were the entrances of Emperor candidate Larry and Emperor candidate Lee. Larry's steering committee entered in complete medieval court costumes, while Larry entered on a live horse, which was very impressive but caused some concern in the audience, especially on the part of those seated next to the runway. Lee's entrance featured lighted chandeliers and a Viennese ball scene with dancers in formal dress and hoop skirts.

Following the candidates' entrances, Don and Bublz issued the traditional proclamations, the most noteworthy being the change of the title of the Seattle Court from "The Imperial Court of Seattle and the Olympic Empire" to "The Seattle Court of the Olympias and Rainiers."

Following the official proclamations were the award presentations. They were as follows: Man of the Year — Mr. Chuck Tokley; Woman of the Year — Ms. Ren Miller; Emperor's Award for Outstanding Service to the Community — Mr. Charlie Brydon. Lambda Awards went to Mr. Jim Oslund (Emperor VI of San Francisco), Mr. Harold Strong (Emperor II of Portland), and Paula (twelfth Miss Seattle). The Dorian Group Award went to Don and Bublz for outstanding service to the community. The Queen City Business Guild Presidential Award (one of the most coveted awards in the city) went to Mr. Jim Tully, managing editor of the Seattle Gay News.

Following the awards ceremony was the second surprise of the evening: the announcement and coronation of Olympia VII [Starlett], and Rainier IV [Lee]. Normally, the Coronation ceremony is not held until the end of the ball, which in some instances has been as late as 3 a.m. the following morning [...]

After a dance break, the new Emperor and Empress and the outgoing Emperor and Empress returned to the stage to receive and greet representatives from all courts in attendance, including those of: Seattle and surrounding baronies, Anchorage, Calgary, Edmonton, Reno, San Francisco, San Fernando, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Vancouver [WA], Vancouver [BC], Denver, Eugene, and Spokane.

Another surprise event of the evening was the appearance of newly elected mayor Charles Royer and Mrs. Royer. Mayor Royer received standing ovations for many of his comments, which included: "I understand that your contribution to my campaign was meaningful: I do not intend to fall back from where we are now. This year, more than any other, it was important that you became politically active." Mayor Royer proved that he felt comfortable with the audience when he made such comments as: "That was one hell of an entrance," referring to Bublz's second entrance to the throne [...]

In addition, the co-chairpersons of The Dorian Group were summoned to the throne and presented with a check for over $1,200 [...] for the Dorian Legislative Fund. One dollar of each ticket sold was pledged to The Dorian Group Fund by Don and Bublz to help continue the fight for equal rights.

Of the people who attended the ball, nearly all were wildly enthusiastic about the entire evening, which can only be attributed to the hard work and careful planning put forth by those individuals involved and to the magnificent leadership of Their Most Imperial Majesties — Olympia VI [Bublz] and Rainier III [Don]. Thank you from all of Seattle for a job well done.

This article was edited for length. To view the original article in full, visit https://issuu.com/sgn.org/docs/sgn_february_17_1978