MERMAID PARADE

Since 1983, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors from across the country — and around the world — have headed to the Coney Island shore for Coney Island USA’s annual Mermaid Parade.

Inspired by the Coney Island Mardi Gras parades of old, the Mermaid Parade was transformed by its participants into a new kind of community celebration. By the late 1980s, it was at the top of every list of “must-do” things in New York, and is, without question, the official opening of summer in the city.

Here are some of my favorite photos captured from 2023-2025.