Scary Sea Monsters Can’t Chase Away the Beautiful Mermaids

The Party Mermaid

The remnants of Tropical Storm Bill were delayed just in time to allow the 33rd annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island to go on without hardly any rain. Perhaps King Neptune had something to do with it. This way all the lovely mermaids and sea creatures could show off in one the most creative parades in the nation. The parade is actually a second generation of a prior Mermaid parade dedicated to Vaudeville, burlesque, dime museums, and circus sideshows. The newer version includes elements of the old parade and requires NYers to use their creative juices to present costumes or dance performances with a marine theme to the more than open to bribery judges for higher points. Each year there are Brooklyn related honorees that wear the crown of King Neptune and Queen Mermaid for the year. This year the honorees were Mat Fraser and his wife Julie Atlas Muz. They met in Coney Island for the first time and their romance led to marriage. The misty rain let up just in time for the parade to kick off with a fine display of antique cars and then the fun started with all kinds of mermaids and sea creatures trying to get the judges attention. Getting the crowd all worked up were the all female drum band Batala with their pirate costumes. They were real good.

Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz

Founder Dick Zugan

Some Hot Sauce for ya

Probably one of the best things about the parade is that more families and larger groups are participating in the costumes and dance themes. A parade just isn’t a parade without a marching band and the Black and Yellow Marching Band were sure having fun at the parade. They were soon followed up by a crowd favorite, The Sexcamaids. They were probably the best dancing group. Each year one group of dancers steals the show with their creativity and this year The Codfather scored high points for their creativity and mix of movie clips from the Godfather classic. Of course, they made offers to the judges that they couldn’t refuse. The parade keeps growing larger in entries and popularity. People came as far as England to witness NY creativity at its best and they were not disappointed. Have a safe and fun summer.