Sea Creatures Make Landfall in Coney Island at the Mermaid Parade

Welcome Aboard the Mermaid Ship

The torrential morning rain turned the prospects of an annual flock of parade watchers over to Surf Ave. in Coney Island, Brooklyn into a gloomy one. But as though King Neptune himself rose from the ocean to command the rain to stop, just a few minutes after the parade kicked off the rain ceased and all kinds of sea creatures and lovely mermaids made landfall at the 35th annual Mermaid Parade. New Yorkers are some of the most creative people in the country and outside of the Village Halloween parade, this parade is one of the most creative and artistic. People come from all parts of the country to take part in the annual festival. The Mermaid Parade is actually on its second remake as the original Mermaid parade paid tribute to Vaudeville and burlesque. And this years version had plenty of groups doing a great job going vintage.

Deborah Harry and Chris Stein Rocking the Parade

Marni In Revolution Mode

Going Vintage

Each year the parade sponsors select a King Neptune and Queen Mermaid to kick off the festivities. This year rock royalty was present with punk rock icons Chris Stein and Deborah Harry getting the crowd prepared for a fun-filled day. Deborah Harry took punk rock mainstream in the 70s and 80s with big hits like Call Me and had the first rap video ever aired on MTV in 1981 with the mega-hit Rapture. Chris Stein was the lead guitarist and photographer of many Deborah Harry photos. Soon after the celebrities waved to their adoring fans, the fun started with thousands of sea creatures and lovely mermaids showing off to the judges to win prizes. Of course, the judges are always open to bribery by any means necessary. This year, the judges had tough choices to make as there were some great costumes and performances. One of the best ones was from a group called Clamilton with an amazing act. They were on point. A crowd favorite is the all female drum band Fogo Azul getting the crowd all worked up. Paying a tribute to Vaudeville was probably one of best groups of the day…the Rockaway Mermaid Brigade with a tribute to Duke Ellington. The group dressed for the occasion and then paid tribute to Blondie with a funny version of Call Me. Another fun group that probably had the best pirate ship was the Cee Bee Gee Bees group buzzing around and making funny honey. King Neptune would have been proud at all the man-made tributes to all things living in the water.