OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
COURIER LIFE, JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2020 27
BY ROSE ADAMS
Revelers and wayward sea creatures
can celebrate Coney Island’s beloved
Mermaid Parade at a “de-centralized”
event later this summer,
organizers announced on Saturday.
Parade organizers will work with
bars, restaurants, and other venues
across the globe to stage the Aug. 29
“parade,” which will feature costumes,
prizes, and beloved Mermaid Parade
traditions, one event organizer said.
“We’re going to have celebrity
guests, we’re going to do some surprise
stunts, we’re going to have prizes,”
said Mark Alhadeff, a member of Coney
Island USA, the arts non-profi t
that hosts the parade.
The 38th annual Mermaid Parade,
originally slated for June 20, was postponed
due to the novel coronavirus —
and its hosts decided to keep the event
socially-distanced out of fear of spreading
the disease.
“We can’t have 800,000 people in
Coney Island for obvious reasons,” Alhadeff
said. “The last thing we want to
do is have a super spreader event.”
Coney Island USA, however, hopes
to recreate the parade’s communal atmosphere
by featuring the disparate
celebrations in a live-streamed event
online. The format will not only allow
attendees to maintain a safe social distance,
but will also give the audience a
chance to take a closer look at some of
the intricate costumes, Alhadeff said.
“People really want to talk about
their costume,” he said. “This year
people can really get screen time.”
The reimagined march will also
carry on other Mermaid Parade staples,
such as its costume contest, spearheaded
by this year’s inaugural King
and Queen, playwrights Jeremy O. Harris
and Lynn Nottage. The King and
Queen, along with a panel of judges, will
determine the best Mermaid and Neptune
costumes, the best child’s costume,
the best musical group, and more.
And just as the Mermaid Parade
typically honors the symbolic rebirth
of the Coney Island shoreline, each
venue participating in the 2020 “parade”
will be given a bottle of Coney Island
seawater, which attendees can use
to baptize each other, Alhadeff said.
“We’re going to distribute to the
venues bottles of Coney Island so they
can baptize themselves with Coney Island
water,” he said.
One difference in this year’s event,
however, is that it will serve to fund
outside organizations. A maximum of
half of the donations will go to Coney
Island USA, and the other half will be
split between several other charities
chosen by the organizers and the parade’s
King and Queen, Alhadeff said.
“We’re goofy, we fool around, but
we’re also serious and want to make
sure we’re doing our part,” Alhadeff
said.
To advertise the fundraiser, the
live-streamed event will be in the style
of a telethon — and will feature telethon
tropes, such as a gigantic thermometer
measuring donations and
songs from Jerry Lewis, a frequent
telethon performer in the 1970s.
And while the event won’t be held in
its Coney Island home, Alhadeff said
that he hopes to work with some local
bars and restaurants to host small celebrations
as part of the “parade.”
“Hopefully, there will be venues
in Coney Island, but we do expect everybody
to act responsibly,” Alhadeff
said.
More fi sh in the sea
Coney arts org unveils plans for reimagined Mermaid Parade
Coney Island’s 38th annual Mermaid Parade
will be held across dozens of bars and restaurants
on Aug. 29. Photo by Erica Price