We will meet on West 20th Street and the Boardwalk.
The parade starts at 1 pm.
So get out your glitter, wigs, fins, and pasties, and join us for a day of fun!
Getting there early is a good call since traffic ramps up the closer it gets to 1 p.m.
A completely original creation of Coney Island USA, the Mermaid Parade is the nation's largest art parade and one of New York City's greatest summer events.
A celebration of ancient mythology and honky-tonk rituals of the seaside, it showcases over 3,000 creative individuals from all over the five boroughs and beyond, opening the summer with incredible art, entrepreneurial spirit, and community pride. The parade highlights Coney Island Pageantry based on a century of many Coney parades, celebrates the artistic vision of the masses, and ensures that the summer season is a success by bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the amusement area in a single day.
The MERMAID PARADE was founded in 1983 with 3 goals: it brings mythology to life for local residents who live on streets named Mermaid and Neptune; it creates self-esteem in a district that is often disregarded as “entertainment”; and it lets artistic New Yorkers find self-expression in public.
Unlike most parades, this one has no ethnic, religious, or commercial aims. It’s a major New York holiday invented by artists! An American version of the summer-solstice celebration, it takes pride in place with West African Water Festivals and Ancient Greek and Roman street theater. It features participants dressed in hand-made costumes based on themes and categories set by us. This creates an artistic framework on which artists can improvise, resulting in the flourishing of frivolity, dedication, pride, and personal vision that has become how New York celebrates summer.
The parade and all the hoopla are about the mythology of the sea, but it celebrates self-expression and Coney Island itself. It also serves to boost pride for the district, which has streets named “Mermaid” and “Neptune,” and gives artistic New Yorkers a place to express themselves fully in public.
When: Saturday, June 17, 2023, beginning at 1 PM ET.
Parade Route: West 21st St. and Surf Ave., to West 10th St. to the Boardwalk
Parade Route: West 21st St. and Surf Ave., to West 10th St. to the Boardwalk
Public Transit
Directions: Take the D, Q, N, or F train to Stillwell Avenue.