The 2024 Coney Island Mermaid Parade in (NSFW) pics

Mer-folk of all genders and ages, fish, crabs, lobsters, octopi, squids, and a variety of other nautical creatures real and mythological took over Coney Island on Saturday (6/22) as the Coney Island Mermaid Parade held its 42nd annual edition along Surf Ave and the boardwalk. A third straight day of relentless heat may have blunted attendance slightly, but people still came out in droves to celebrate creativity, fertility, the beginning of summer, and letting one’s freak flag fly, with an estimated 3000 people (and a few dogs) participating this year.

Marchers and people in the crowd for the country’s largest art parade went all out dressing for the occasion, donning sequins, pasties, tulle, shell bras, body paint, elaborate headpieces, glittering jewels and shimmering scales… and in many cases, very little else. Coney Island “mayor” Dick Zigun was seen in the procession, wearing his traditional sash, and was greeted by a cluster of onlookers chanting “we want Dick!,” who he dipped his hat to. Also seen were “honorary Scumdog” Humongous Fungus of Urungus, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, a blue-painted fire-breather, dance troop the TailShakers, drumlines Fogo Azul and Batalá, and outfits inspired by Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Prince, David Bowie, and more. You can see lots of pictures from the whole day (some are NSFW) by Amanda Hatfield below.