The Captiva Mullet Marching Band assembles for the January parade.

Last month, Captiva business owner Dave Jensen had an idea — to create a new tradition that was extremely fun and completely Captiva.

The result — the Captiva Mullet Marching Band, made up of local and visiting musicians, vacationers and residents who marched down Andy Rosse Lane playing instruments and dancing their way to the beach to greet the sunset.

Fellow Mullet Marcher, accordion player and “Coordinator of Craziness” Queenie Viglione said the first parade was a splashing success, and she’s excited to see where the event will lead — besides the Mucky Duck.

“During the inaugural parade, people were coming up to tell me that they wished they could hold something like this in their home towns. And they can — you just have to be crazy enough to step outside the box and try new things,” Queenie said. “I’m so glad that we’re doing this again so soon.”

At the first Mullet March, a young United States Marine named Nick was staying at Jensen’s Twin Palms Cottages as a part of the local program Operation Open Arms before returning to North Carolina and preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.

“It was so cool that Nick got to be a part of our fun and his story really grounds the reason for why we’re doing this — the need to have just a bit of levity in such a serious world,” Queenie said. “I think the idea started on a really cold day. There wasn’t a lot going on, nobody was coming through the marina, but I could see the spark go off in Dave’s head.

“That’s the beauty of the relationships with the people Dave has surrounded himself with. Dave has crazy great ideas, but he’s very sensible, and he’s so fortunate to be surrounded by all these loving people who want to help him accomplish his wildest dreams,” Queenie said. “Where it goes from here, we don’t know.“

Though, Queenie did say she’s considering forming a “Kitchen Section” for the Captiva Mullet Marching Band — e.g. pots and pans, colanders, wooden spoons — so that residents or visitors who don’t play or are without an instrument can participate musically.

“If you’re staying in a rented cottage or cabin at Jensen’s Marina, you’ll definitely be able to find some pots and pans to play as you march down Andy Rosse Lane,” Queenie said.

Any and every person is welcome to join the Captiva Mullet Marching Band because, as Queenie said, “Here on Captiva, everybody is a celebrity!”

In honor of the parade, RC Otters will host a mullet fry and the Island Store will also have smoked mullet for sale. Captain Jesse’s Charters and Fresh Seafood will offer fresh whole mullet for sale and will be pushing a cart in the parade.

Participants in the Captiva Mullet Marching Band will gather at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at Jensen’s Marina to prepare for the parade, which departs from McCarthy’s Marina and the Bubble room around 6:05 p.m. and travels down Andy Rosse Lane to the Mucky Duck to meet the setting sun.

For more details about the Captiva Mullet Marching Band and how you can be a part of it, call Jensen’s Marina at 472-5800.