6 JUNE 23 – JUNE 29, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Mermaids marvel at 35th annual
Coney Island Mermaid Parade
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
MMCGOLDRICKBROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Mermaids and mermen and
Trump, oh my!
Hundreds, young and old,
hit the pavement on Saturday, June
24 to revel in the 35th annual Coney
Island Mermaid Parade.
Despite some wet weather, marchers
and spectators alike came out to
celebrate one of the neighborhood's
most unique traditions, put on each
year by Coney Island USA. This year's
lineup of mermaid and mermen wowed
the crowds with their best "under
the sea" attire — a number of them putting
their own modern spins on their
digs. From silver sisters to a gaggle
of Spidermen and (more than a few)
takes on President Donald Trump,
there was certainly no shortage of
creativity at this year's cavalcade.
Furthermore, this year's procession
was formally reigned over by Blondie's
Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, who
served as the parade's Queen Mermaid
and King Neptune.
“We are in rock and roll heaven,”
said Coney Island USA founder and
self-proclaimed Mayor of Coney
Island Dick Zigun in early May when
the dynamic duo's participation in this
year's parade was fi rst announced.
“Our Blondie King Neptune and
Queen Mermaid represent authentic
New York City arts from East Village
CBGB punk, to current cutting edge
Coney Island.”
In keeping with tradition, Harry
and Stein were wheeled through
the parade in an antique wicker
Boardwalk Rolling Chair that dates
back to 1923. The duo, known best
for founding the famous rock band
in 1974, were pioneers in the early
American new wave and punk scenes
of that decade and beyond.
Also famous for its mold-breaking,
the quirky parade — lauded annually
for its unique and artistic celebration
and appreciation of ancient mythology
— began at the corner of West 21st
Street and Surf Avenue. From there,
it proceeded east on Surf Avenue to
West 10th Street, where it turned
south to the Boardwalk and then
north back to Steeplechase Plaza,
where it ended with Zigun leading
the King and Queen through the MCU
Park parking lot and to the beach for
the o cial opening of the ocean for
the summer swimming season.
Dating back to 1983, the “honkytonk
seaside ritual,” as Zigun puts
it, routinely attracts hundreds of
thousands of visitors to the amusement
district and features marching
bands, drill teams, fl oats, antique cars
and some 1,500 participants dressed
in hand-made costume of mermaids,
sea creatures, amusement rides and
Neptunes.
Coney Island USA — the parade’s
parent organization which also
produces the Coney Island Circus
Sideshow — has o en regarded the
event as an artist-inspired affair
assembled with the goal of fostering
artists’ self-expression, bringing mythology
to life for Coney Island locals,
and creating self-esteem in
a district “o en
disregarded
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Corazon Aguirre
Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein led the parade as Queen
Mermaid and King Neptune.
Scenes from this year’s Mermaid Parade.
as ‘entertainment.’”
It is the largest art parade in the
nation and the largest event of the
year in Coney Island, according to its
organizers, and is meant to pay homage
to Coney Island’s forgotten Mardi
Gras, which ran from
1903 to 1954.
thology