THE MERMAID PARADE - CONEY ISLAND

Photo by Matthew Stanton (Flickr: Mermaid Parade 2009) 

Every year in Coney Island there is a freakishly fun parade known as the Mermaid Parade.  It's a celebration of the Summer Solstice created by artists and all are invited to participate. 

People with outgoing personalities or those wanting to live out an alter-ego don costumes representing sea creatures.  Women put on wigs and long fishtail skirts or tights, covering their upper region with coconut shells, clam shells, bikini tops, green paint, or little bits of nothing.  There are also mermen, and they can be pretty outlandish.  There are crabs, lobsters, clams, pirates, and other characters decked out in geegaws. 

The parade starts at Surf Avenue and 21^st Street and strolls down Surf Avenue.  It’s hot.  It’s loud.  It’s fun.  There are cars and floats, marching bands and one-man bands.  And you’ll never see anything like it anywhere else.  If you want to plant a chair on the curb, you’ll need to arrive a few hours early.

By Joe Mazzola (Flickr: Mermaid Parade 2008) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Okay, it’s already happened in 2014, but for next year’s parade, get more information here: http://www.coneyisland.com/programs/mermaid-parade

Post by Alana Cash