Dear mermastic and mermazing creatures of the deep and shallow,
It was my favorite day of the summer in New York: the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, which is actually the sort-of first day of summer when the mermaids march across the beach and throw fruit in the sea as a pagan gesture to celebrate the solstice. I was a bit bummed before we set out for Coney because I read during the winter that my favorite bar in New York, Ruby's, had finally and sadly been evicted from their legendary space on the boardwalk....but halfway through the parade my friend Nancy suggested we walk over and see if by some miracle there was a new bar there that might be tolerable....and lo and behold, the old Ruby's was still there!
Turns out there were so many protests from all the Ruby's regulars that the landlord agreed to renegotiate their lease....so they have another year here and it will be a year-by-year situation moving forward. My Mermaid Parade coverage this year is sort of in reverse....here are my photos from the during and post-parade gathering at Ruby's which was definitely the best celebration I've experienced at Ruby's since I've been hanging out there for the past 10 year or so....spirits were high, everyone was in a great mood and it was the best costume party I've been to in years. My parade photos follow.
My friend Nancy on the right with our new true blue gal pal. After hanging out here for a few hours, Nancy--who is a left-wing documentarian of the Cuban Revolution--pronounced Ruby's revelers "the new America."
Me and a bat-winged clown.
This guy's headpiece seemed inspired by mermaids from Mordor (click photo to see details)
America may be an empire in decline but what makes this country still great is the freedom to deep-throat a corn dog anywhere you please, with liberty, justice and saturated fat for all.
"I don't give a crap if you don't like my hat, because I know it's amazing."
While Nancy and I were sitting on top of the freezer and sipping our New Moon ale, Nancy turned to me and said, "There's a gay in here." I looked over and sure enough, it was Misstress Formika in all his Dior glory! I'm pretty sure those shades were the only high-fashion accessory in the joint.
I can't visit Coney Island without sucking down some fresh raw clams at Ruby's....slurrrrp!
This was the first year they had helium balloons at the parade....I didn't mind because they weren't annoying branded corporate cartoon balloons like the ones at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Somehow Marge Simpson ended up with an entourage of sea horses...
The pair of tropical fish were probably the highlight of the parade and the crowd went wild when they came careening down the boardwalk at high speed. A genius couple were riding bicycles inside them and they wove around each other erratically to mimic the movement of fish swimming.....the fish above nearly went off course and almost crashed right into us!
The hula-hoop girl was a major crowd-pleaser.
I thought this blond superhero was adorable.
A bit far from the sea, Nancy and I spotted this lone mermaid as we exited the subway in Park Slope/Gowanus on our way to visit our friend Christine after the parade.
Previous coverage:
Thanks for visiting.
Love,
Glenn Belverio
Great coverage!! Sorry I missed it!!
Posted by: tom | June 20, 2011 at 02:54 PM