NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Coney Island's Mermaid Parade is making a big comeback this summer as the beloved Brooklyn event celebrates its 40th year.
The summer kick-off event celebrating "ancient mythology and honky-tonk rituals of the seaside" is planned for Saturday, June 18 on Surf Avenue.
Thousands of people will once again descend onto the streets of Coney Island for the nautical-themed celebration, which is billed as the nation's largest art parade, after being canceled last year over the rise of the delta variant and moved to a virtual setting in 2020 due to the pandemic.
"The Mermaid Parade is the greatest day in Coney Island," Adam Rinn, artistic director of Coney Island USA, told WCBS 880. "We're currently working on our royalty, our king and queen, being this is the 40th anniversary of the parade and if we can land who we're hoping for, yeah, this is going to be a fun one, it's going to be a funny one, and it's going to be a good one."
The organization hopes to announce this year's King Neptune and Queen Mermaid at their spring gala on March 26.
Organizers said the parade will follow any COVID guidelines to ensure the safety of participants and viewers.
"We want everyone to be safe, we want everyone to be healthy and we're really looking forward to bringing the fun, and the excitement, and the revenue and the business back to Coney Island," Rinn said.
Every year since 1983, the colorful parade, which coincides with the Summer Solstice, features hundreds of themed-floats along with thousands of participants and spectators decked out in mermaid and other sea-themed costumes. Rinn said he does expect some to take inspiration from current events.
"The participants really kind of make it their own and generally go with the current events of the day. So this ugly virus that we've been dealing with will probably make an appearance in the parade, though we don't want it to literally make an appearance in this parade," Rinn said. "We just want it to artistically make an appearance in the parade."
Registration to participate in the parade opens Feb. 14.
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