Coney Island has such a distinct culture that the sixth boro (the watery parts between the five terra-boros) should just annex it.
Very introductory but fascinating history of Coney’s evolution can be had in these short articles by Lisa Iannucci, Jeffrey Stanton, and Laurence Aurbach Jr. One theme of these articles is that Coney has a rich history of inverting the genteel norms, entertaining rather than uplifting, dissolving the distinction between audience and performer, and (for a holiday) legitimizing some folks’ ideas of the illegitimate. (Some of those phrases come from the lecture by Goeff Zylstra recently at Alongtheshore.) It sounds like the alongshore of Coney makes a candidate for the capital of the sixth boro, and the Mermaid Parade its official holiday.
May these few fotos whet your appetite! Doubleclick enlarges. More tomorrow. I took this foto almost immediately after arriving yesterday, and I was so happy I could have gone home satisfied. Mermaids exude such grace!
Dick Zigun, mayor of Coney, leads off the 20th annual parade. Thanks for ALL your efforts, Dick and crew. Oceans of appreciation to all the performers!
King Neptune and Queen Mermaid aka Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson ride the ceremonial cart.
Charm and
ferocity,
Fun for all ages, youngsters
of all ages: THIS is the circus that has come to Coney.
Beplumed posteriors and
profiles, they have given me a smile I can’t erase for days, months even.
Those black smudges . . . yeah, the parade did have its dirty parts, but for that, your patience until tomorrow is required.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
15 comments
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June 20, 2010 at 11:04 am
Bonnie
Nice shots! I got some good ones too, although I’m still bummed my battery died so soon.
I was thinking that one very cool thing about this parade was how totally inclusive it is. St. Pat’s is for the Irish. Steuben Day is for the Germans. The Labor Day parade is for the folks from the Caribbean, and so on & so on.
This one? This is EVERYBODY’S parade.
June 20, 2010 at 11:08 am
tugster
amen . . . to that. merfolk and landfolk in collaboration brings out that inclusivity!
June 20, 2010 at 12:02 pm
David
So many shells, so little time. When is the parade next year, I will try not to miss it again.
June 20, 2010 at 12:23 pm
tugster
The parade is always the closest saturday to the summer solstice. See you in 364 days.
June 20, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Christina
I am extremely jealous. Every year I say I want to go, but then it passes by and I find that I’ve missed it again. Marking my calendar right now for next year. It looks like great fun. What wonderful pics!
June 20, 2010 at 2:24 pm
tugster
christina– thanks so much for writing. You have a thrilling week ahead of your with CityTech and the NEH workshop . . . just thrilling and wonderful. I will meet you on Tuesday on one of your trips.
June 20, 2010 at 2:25 pm
JP
“She sells seashells on the seashore
The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure
So if she sells seashells on the seashore
Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells”
June 20, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Mage Bailey
Oh, I bet you had fun. Having fun. Will have fun. 🙂
June 20, 2010 at 6:05 pm
bowsprite
splish splash! of sparkles, glitter, color and skin! whoo hoo!!! that was sooo fun!
June 20, 2010 at 11:30 pm
Maritime Monday 219 - Casco Bay Boaters Blog
[…] NY Mermaid Parade 2010 – Coney Island has such a distinct culture that the sixth boro (the watery parts between the five terra-boros) should just annex it. More Photos on TUGSTER » […]
June 21, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Mermaid Parade 2010 – Coney Island : Old Salt Blog – a virtual port of call for all those who love the sea
[…] oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Check out some great photos of the parade on the tugster blog here and […]
June 23, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Dennis @ Marine Electronics
Great pictures of the parade. Sick situation in the Gulf. What makes the whole thing worse is that there was a major oil spill there in 1979-1980 and nary a lesson was learned. Different oil company caused the spill but that’s semantics.
June 24, 2010 at 11:06 am
Ginny
Great shots from a great day in Coney Island!
June 27, 2010 at 7:43 am
Barista Uno
Looks like great fun to me. Are there similar maritime-related festivals in other parts of this planet? More posts of this kind, Mr tugster – with similar eye-cacthing photos!
June 27, 2010 at 9:10 am
tugster
barista– i’m with you . . . let’s make a list of mermaid/seamaster events around the world and then organize a marifest-version of Endless Summer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Endless_Summer