Coney Island
Saturday, June 20, free, 1:00
Parade starts at West 21st St. & Surf Ave.
www.coneyisland.com
Two years ago, there was almost no Mermaid Parade. This year, there will be no Mermaid Parade Ball, but the thirty-third annual parade itself is a go, led by the husband-and-wife team of Julie Atlas Muz (This or That!) as Queen Mermaid and Mat Fraser (American Horror Story) as King Neptune. An annual tradition since 1983, harkening back to the Coney Island Mardi Gras, which was held from 1903 to 1954, the parade gets started at West Twenty-First St. & Surf Ave., heads east onto West Tenth St., then turns south toward the boardwalk and Steeplechase Plaza, with antique cars, motorized and pulled floats, and tons of folks dressed in wild sea regalia. Over the years, the Mermaid Parade has gone from a relatively small, intimate gathering — we marched in it way back when, and we were a manta ray, not Batman, thank you very much — to a huge celebration, part Village Halloween Parade, part Gay Pride March. It’s just the right time and place to let it all hang out and release that inner sea creature that has been lurking within you, ready to burst free.