BWW Exclusive: Coney Island Gets Fishy for the Mermaid Parade!

If you happened to be on the subway this month and smelled something particularly fishy (not the usually kind of subway fishy) you may have been in the same car as a mermaid. Saturday, June 17th, 2017 marked the 35th Annual Mermaid Parade on Coney Island. That's right. One day a year, all the mermaids of Coney Island are magically granted feet and march down Surf Ave and the Boardwalk until they grow their fins back and return to their watery homes... Okay maybe not quite mermaids, but close! Thousands of artists, and mermaid enthusiasts march in the parade every year. Over 3,000 Seashell clad individuals strolled, danced, and rolled down Surf Ave this year. It began pouring rain before the parade and several times during. Luckily, it is the Mermaid Parade, so a little water wasn't a problem for the marchers.

Walking past the crowds lining the barricades around the parade you may pass some people carrying signs plastered "WE LOVE DICK!" Now, regardless of your sexual orientation, if you're attending The Mermaid Parade, you probably love Dick, too.

Known as the Mayor of Coney Island, Dick Zigun founded the Mermaid Parade 35 years ago. Now he is one of the most beloved members of the Coney Island community.

The Mermaid Parade itself is a one of a kind celebration of ancient mythology and artistic expression. Among the marchers are a host of marching bands, cheerleading squads, drill teams, dance teams, and floats. There are even a collection of antique cars throughout the parade. Though Coney Island attracts plenty of tourists throughout the year, The Mermaid Parade marks the largest event of the year in the amusement district.

In 1983, the not-for-profit Coney Island USA began the Mermaid Parade. When first founded, the parade pulled inspiration from a multitude of sources but especially Coney Island's former week long Mardi Gras (a celebration which lasted from 1903 to 1954, when the festivities had to end due to lack of funding). What was created from this was a love child full of the influences of the area; The Mermaid Parade- a quirky, unique, and artistic presentation of the talent of NYC and Coney Island- was born.

The parade was created with three goals in mind. The first of these has to do with the story behind the name of the parade. Anyone who is familiar with the Coney Island area (or has joined the Mermaid Parade) is familiar with three very specific streets: Mermaid Ave, Neptune Ave, and Surf Ave. Dick explained that one goal of the Mermaid Parade was to bring the mythology of the local streets to life for the people who lived there. "Kids didn't understand mythology and even before [the] 1st parade once I made up [the] name MERMAID PARADE people were laughing because mermaids don't have feet and can't March."

The second founding goal was to create self esteem in a district of NYC often overlooked. Besides Luna Park and Nathan's, Coney Island is often disregarded when it comes to NYC. The Mermaid Parade attracts thousands to the area and shows off some of the whimsy that makes Coney Island such a unique and special place. "I started the arts organization CONEY ISLAND USA in 1980 & we produced our first show in 1981 but we had not yet rented a bldg [sic] & had no visual presence in neighborhood so I wanted to start a parade & take over the entire area one day a year to showcase what an organization in CI could do."

The final goal was to create a space for artistic New Yorkers to express themselves and show off their skills in a public setting. Unlimited and uncensored, this parade certainly delivers that space. The Mermaid Parade has become the largest art parade in the nation. Dick shared that the "[f]irst parade had all the current themes and attitude but more people in it than watched it... Now 3 thousand March and hundreds of thousands watch."

In addition to all the marchers, bands, dancers, etc., each year the parade is headlined by Queen Mermaid and King Neptune. This year's royal pair was Blondie's Deborah Harry and Chris Stein. "Our BLONDIE King Neptune and Queen Mermaid represent authentic NYC arts from East Village CBGB punk, to current cutting edge Coney Island." Previous title holders include Queen Latifah, Harvey Keitel, Daphne Keitel, David Byrne, Judah Friedlander, and Carole Radziwill. Each year the Queen and King are brought through an "antique wicker Boardwalk Rolling Chair" from 1923. Queen Mermaid and King Neptune are found by reaching through a network of New Yorkers. Dick explained they, "Work with celebrity friends to find NYC area celebs who might do parade for free and after asking 50 or so celebs who turn us down due to busy scheduling conflicts someone eventually says yes."

Coney Island's Mayor has established quite the network through this work. "I didn't "see" an actual Mermaid this year but various trickster water gods clearly were messing with us June 17, 2017." Unfortunately, the rain wasn't the only thing threatening the parade this year, for with the growth of the parade has come a problem with funding. Coney Island USA managed to pull through this year, but "there are very expensive legitimate costs to running a free party for NYC and our small arts organization struggles to break even." The peril of insufficient funding of the Mermaid Parade and therefore all it does for Coney Island and NYC artists should not be taken lightly. "CIUSA defends the honor of American popular culture and besides producing the MERMAID PARADE, Coney Island Museum, etc is also responsible for starting the Neo-Burlesque movement as well as the Circus Sideshow revival."

Mermaid sightings have been documented by sailors many times throughout history, most famously Christopher Columbus. According to Dick, "If you read Henry Hudson's journals he saw a Metmaid [sic] in NYC's lower bay the day before dropping anchor on Coney Island." Clearly, Coney Island is home to artists and mermaids with legs and fins alike. If we want to maintain this home for them its crucial artistic spaces like the Mermaid Parade are maintained, so that even on rainy days, we have mermaids to brighten them up with a little glitter and a lot of sparkle.