Mermaid Parade 2013 b

It can only be midsummer for a few long days.  Store up on the color, frivolity, music, and laughter the mermaids bring ashore for the rest of the year.  When they come through the intersection and turn down Surf Avenue, everyone stops to watch them pass.

 

And then, the hoop stops spinning and drops.  Tails and scales return and mermaids hurry back to their occupations beneath the waves, leaving us to return to our pursuits.  The moon wanes, as the music fades, replaced by raucous horns of frustrated drivers stuck in traffic.  Days shorten.  Temperatures oppress.  And we have only memories of this to get us through another year.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

And if you think this is an NYC-unique event, check out the zeemeerminnen.