Scenes from the 2011 Mermaid Parade

The Coney Island Mermaid Parade... I go every year and I just love it! It felt so amazing to return to Coney Island on Saturday, June 18th, since my last visit in June 2010 for last year's parade. I used to go lay out on the beach every weekend with my friends back in the Summer of '08, but these same friends moved away and I haven't been back as much since. Then Astroland closed down in September of '08 and we all thought that would be the end of Coney Island. But it is still thriving, thanks to the new Luna Park and various flea markets occupying the former fair grounds.

It was vey crowded, but I didn't mind. This is a magical, historical place and it's important to me to try and visit every year that I live in New York. The only other day when it's this crowded is on the 4th of July during the hot-dog eating contest. Believe me, I've been!!

This year, I vowed to walk in the parade for next year (maybe as a Hula Girl?) and to also return to the park again this summer to ride some of the new Luna Park amusement rides. But not on July 4th...


Golden Girl


Dancers


Ice Skater float


My friend calls the man below, "The Guy" because he always
sees this guy around the City at festivals, parades, shows, etc.


Got a kick out of these guys: "Life of Pi"


Sorry, no naked Mermaid pics. I'm a chick so...

84th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

I'd been planning on going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade here in NYC for a few months now. It was my first Thanksgiving not spent with my family, but I was determined to experience this New York tradition first hand and of course—take pictures!

My wake-up call was 5:45 am. Left the apartment around 6:30 and got to my planned destination along the parade route, which was Columbus Circle, at 7 am. It was awesome. And I had about 6 other friends joining me so there was a lot of frantic texting back and forth so that we could find each other amid the crowds. Joe from I Still Heart New York found us a great spot along Central Park South/59th Street and 7th Avenue. We had a view of the parade as it passed the top corner of Columbus Circle then moved toward us along 59th Street with the trees of Central Park as a backdrop.

Here are some highlights from the parade:

Spiderman


Hello Kitty!


Jessica Simpson


Stars from Macy's Believe campaign


Parade marchers


Kanye West

Unfortunately, Kanye got a lot of boo's from our section along the parade route.
My friend recorded and posted this video and put it on YouTube. Perez Hilton 
soon found it and posted it on his website! 

And from the day before the parade, the Smurf float set-up on West 81st Street by the Museum of Natural History

Coney Island's Mermaid Parade

Since most of my photos from the Mermaid Parade are of topless people (yeah, it was frightful and yeah, there were lots of kids there), I'm going to share some photos of Coney Island and the area/aura of the famous parade.

This parade has been going on for years—since 1983—and happens every year towards the end of June, rain or shine. This year, there was rain. And it was cold. And windy. Whereas last year it was beautiful and warm and bright and sunny. I went with some friends and a fellow photo-taker and ran into some of our other photo friends while there. This is a great event for photography lovers, not because it is a parade—it is not just any parade—it is an outrageous spectacle, an excuse to dress even crazier than you would on Halloween, and a gaurantee that there will be jaw-dropping sights.

Again, most of my photos of the participants contain nudity (they are mermaids, after all), so here are some other pics from the outing!

A rainy view of Coney out of the Q train window



the crowds by the subway station



Lots of guys show up for this event...



Ha! It says, "Free Willie Nelson"



More from last year: here