The Coney Island Mermaid Parade needs some help staying afloat this year.
Ahead of this summer’s return for what would be its 44th installment, Coney Island USA, the local non-profit behind the glammed-out and themed parade that takes over Surf Avenue and the boardwalk for a gorgeous June day (save for a few of those COVID years), has put out something of a distress call.
Earlier this week, the organization launched a GoFundMe campaign to recoup some of the costs from fighting the good fight against casino developers that threatened to turn the People’s Playground into a gambler’s paradise last year. They won, but it appears the battle depleted the bag that would have been otherwise allocated to this year’s parade. And now, they need your help to make sure the mermaids, mermen, and mer-thems can take their rightful posts in the procession. “After a harsh winter and a long fight to protect the neighborhood from a proposed casino development, the organization is now struggling to raise funds needed to prepare for the 2026 parade,” writes Coney Island USA organizer Buddy Englehart on the campaign’s page.
The good news here is that, at the time of publishing, the crowdfunding effort appears to be mostly complete, with over $16,000 of the $18,000 needed already donated, which means, with your assistance, they’ll ideally get the rest of it by the end of this week.
Should they secure the bag (and we very much hope they do), this year’s mermaid parade is slated for June 20. A theme has yet to be announced, but previous iterations are more than worth a glance or two while you wait.
The post The Coney Island Mermaid Parade is in Troubled Waters appeared first on BKMAG.
