Forget Subtle: Inside Coney Island’s Fabulous Mermaid Parade

New York Wire Staff

If you think parades are all marching bands and baton twirlers, you’ve clearly never experienced the spectacular absurdity that is Coney Island’s annual Mermaid Parade. This is a celebration of glitter, scales, questionable amounts of body paint, and an unabashed love of seaside kitsch. Whether you’re in the throngs of cheering spectators or part of the flamboyant procession itself, the Mermaid Parade is a guaranteed dose of pure, unadulterated fun.

A Brief History of Mermaids and Coney Island

Coney Island and mermaids have a long, intertwined history. In its heyday, Coney Island was an amusement wonderland, and imagery of mermaids, mythical sirens of the sea, popped up everywhere. It’s a place where fantasy and a slightly tawdry reality collide – the perfect breeding ground for an event like the Mermaid Parade to be born. The first parade slithered onto the scene in 1983, and it’s been growing in size and audaciousness ever since.

The heart and soul of the Mermaid Parade are the participants. These aren’t professional parade performers; they’re everyday folks, artists, unabashed exhibitionists, and anyone who secretly believes they might be a mermaid at heart. For them, preparing for the parade is a months-long labor of love. Costumes are painstakingly crafted, glitter is applied with abandon, and elaborate floats are constructed in backyards and garages. This is their chance to let their imaginations run wild and transform into fantastical creatures of the deep.

“The Mermaid Parade is the one day a year I get to be my most outlandish self and nobody bats an eye,” confesses a seasoned participant. “It’s about self-expression, creativity, and a whole lot of sequins.”

On parade day, Coney Island’s boardwalk transforms into a riot of color, sparkle, and joyful chaos. There are mermaids and mermen of all shapes, sizes, and genders. Elaborate floats resembling giant seahorses or Neptune’s chariot roll past. Bands play, marchers strut their stuff, and spectators cheer from the sidelines. This is not a parade bound by any notions of good taste or subtlety. It’s loud, it’s gaudy, it’s unabashedly over-the-top…and that’s precisely the point.

“The Mermaid Parade is like Coney Island itself,” remarks a longtime admirer of the spectacle. “It’s nostalgic, slightly tacky, but full of an infectious, joyous energy that makes it impossible not to smile.”

What Does It All Mean?

The Mermaid Parade is more than just a wacky tradition. Let’s dive a bit deeper:

Celebration of Individuality: In a world obsessed with conforming, the Mermaid Parade is a glorious middle finger to the pressure to be like everyone else.
Community Spirit: The spirit of collaboration, from groups working on elaborate floats to neighbors cheering from their balconies, is heartwarming.
Keeping Coney Island Weird: Coney Island has undergone periods of revitalization, with its gritty edges sometimes getting sanded down. The Mermaid Parade fiercely defends its right to be strange and wonderful.

The Mermaid Parade typically takes place in June. If you relish the quirky, the artistic, and the delightfully eccentric, mark your calendar. Whether participating or simply spectating, the Mermaid Parade is a reminder that letting your weird flag fly high is a pretty magnificent thing.

“Attending the Mermaid Parade is an instant mood booster,” says a first-time spectator who is already planning next year’s costume. “It’s the kind of joyful absurdity we all need a bit more of in our lives.”