Bambi the Mermaid the parade icon. During the
Summer season, The Great Fredini and Bambi present -Burlesque
on the Beach- A revival of the most glorious and
notorious of the "girlie revues" in Coney Island
history. Check out her other site
CornStar.com too!
The Coney Island Mermaid Parade
began in 1983. The Mermaid Parade celebrates the
start of the Summer season, and plays homage to original
Coney Island Mardi Gras parades in the early 20th
century.
WHEN: It has taken place annually on the first
Saturday in June following Summer Solstice on June
21st
WHERE: Surf Ave
Founded by Dick Zigun who also is
founder of the Coney Island USA [coneyisland.com]. it is
known for the Carnival spirit found New York's premier
Village Halloween parade as well as Labor Day's
Brooklyn Carnival.
The parade has a section for vehicles of all kinds,
floats, groups and individuals. Mermaids and sea
creatures of all shapes and sizes enjoy a welcoming,
festive crowd. Presiding over the parade are a mermaid
King and Queen. In 2005 the King was David Johansen
(Buster Poindexter) and the Queen was Karmen Guy (Mad
Juana). Other years David Byrne, Queen Latifah, and Moby
have filled the royal seats.
2007 marked the 25th anniversary
of the Mermaid Parade on Coney Island, but it may also have marked the end
of Coney Island as we know it. Joseph Sitt's Thor Equities has purchased
large parcels of Coney Island, and is eyeing a major makeover.
Certain landmarks - such as the Cyclone - have been designated for
historical preservation, but much of the rest of it could be history. In
September 2005, Thor's founder, Joe Sitt, went public with his new plans,
which he claimed was going to be a large Bellagio-style hotel resort
surrounded by rides and amusements. He also claimed that the interior of the
resort would have an indoor mall that would allow local amusement owners to
relocate their rides and operate them indoors year round and made promises
that he had no intention of driving out any local amusement owners and
wanted them all to be part of his new resort. Sitt released renderings of a
hotel that would take up the entire amusement area from the Aquarium to
beyond Keyspan Park and would most likely need to involve the demolition of
The Wonder Wheel, Cyclone, and Nathan's original hot dog stand, as well as
the new Keyspan Park.
The city and Thor Equities, with its $1.5 billion proposed development for
Coney Island that includes a new amusement park and water theme park, have
been at odds over Thor's plan to build three high-rise hotels, including one
with time-share units, on land mostly zoned now for amusements. The
Bloomberg administration plans to unveil a rezoning proposal in the fall of
2007 for
the beachfront property that will allow for other uses but said it's
committed to protecting Coney Island's storied
amusement
district.
MERMAID
PARADE
Get
ready for the wild creativity of slinky sea-inspired couture and
a celebration of the female breast.
The annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade takes
place on the first Saturday after the summer solstice. The
event celebrates the beginning of Summer
The Coney Island
Mermaid Parade began in 1983. The Mermaid Parade
celebrates the start of the Summer season, and plays
homage to original Coney Island Mardi Gras parades in
the early 20th century.
WHEN: It has taken place annually on a Saturday in
June.
WHERE: Surf Ave
Founded by Dick Zigun who also is founder of the Coney
Island USA [coneyisland.com]. it is known for the
Carnival spirit found New York's premier Village
Halloween parade as well as Labor Day's Brooklyn
Carnival.
The parade has a section for vehicles of all kinds,
floats, groups and individuals. Mermaids and sea
creatures of all shapes and sizes enjoy a welcoming,
festive crowd.
Each year, a different celebrity King
Neptune and Queen Mermaid rule over the proceedings,
riding in the Parade and assisting in the opening of the
Ocean for the summer swimming season by marching down
the Beach from the Boardwalk, cutting through Ribbons
representing the seasons, and tossing fruit into the
Atlantic to appease the Sea Gods.Presiding over the parade are a mermaid
King and Queen. In 2005 the King was David Johansen
(Buster Poindexter) and the Queen was Karmen Guy (Mad
Juana). Others include David
Byrne, Queen Latifah, Ron Kuby, Curtis Sliwa, and Moby,
presiding over the assembled masses.
The
Parade is followed by the Mermaid Parade Ball, a
post-parade gathering where costumed parade participants
can get
together with each other and parade spectators to listen
to live music, purchase raffle tickets, and watch
burlesque and sideshow acts performed by some of New
York City's hottest burlesque stars.
The Parade is characterized by participants dressed in
hand-made costumes as Mermaids, Neptunes, various sea
creatures, the occasional wandering lighthouse, Coney
Island post card or amusement ride, as well as antique
cars, marching bands, drill teams, and the odd yacht
pulled on flatbed
"Hello! My name is Mandy and I'm
the girl in that picture. My husband, who made the
costume, actually got a summons for "Walking with a nude
woman and causing an alarm" I have to go to court on
June 25. The cop was obviously trying to impress his CO
and get another ticket to complete his quota, I'm
checking out my options and see where I can go with
this. I have been doing this in almost every major
parade since 1998 and have never had any problems, the
cops were more than happy to take pictures with me, I
don't know what was this guy's problem -more
from
sambagirl
The case was eventually
dismissed.
SambaGirl was the Top flickr click
from the 2005 parade. She
the
Mermaid Parade pays homage to Coney Island's forgotten Mardi
Gras which lasted from 1903 to 1954
The
Parade is followed by the Mermaid Parade Ball, a
post-parade gathering where costumed parade participants
can get
together with each other and parade spectators to listen
to live music, purchase raffle tickets, and watch
burlesque and sideshow acts performed by some of New
York City's hottest burlesque stars.
