Forget the Prius. Mermaids Are the Original Hybrids!
Posted on June 18, 2008 by Stuart Kerty
This weekend welcomes the return one of the craziest events you will encounter anywhere in the country. The Coney Island Mermaid Parade is the nation’s largest art parade and an opportunity to see some of the most beautiful, most glamorous, and most wackiest people that New York City has to offer.
Founded in 1983, the Mermaid Parade pays homage to the long-forgotten Mardi Gras which ran here every year from 1903 to 1954. The parade kicks off the summer in celebration of the history and mythology of Coney Island, the birthplace of roller coasters and hot dogs, and once a world-renown vacation hotspot that has fallen into some disrepair, but is in the midst of a revitalization.
The parade is a fantastical aquatic-themed free-for-all, with participants donning zany and often sexy homemade costumes to transform into mermaids (merpersons?), Poseidons, sea monsters, or any other ocean mythology that creative and slightly bent minds can conjure up.  Imagine if you will Disney World if they fired all the censors and lawyers!
Whether you march in the parade or not, you can share your love for these enchanting Sirens with the wrap-around mermaid belt buckle from RedElephants. These graceful hand-poured metal beauties slither around your belt, meticulously finished in bronze or silver with crystals. Legend says that mermaids would drag sailors down into the deep, but on Saturday, they might simply drag you onto the boardwalk to dance. To learn more about the parade and the history and future of the area, visit Coney Island USA.
Since the future of Coney Island is unsure as new development is changing the face of the area, harken (seriously, when was the last time you harkened?!) back to the iconic Steeplechase Park with the buckle from Lola Staar, featuring the mildly demented smiling face “Tillie”, named after park owner George Tilyou. Ahh, you can almost feel the thrill and the queasiness of the Parachute Drop!
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