© MIKE FENDER / THE NEWS HERALD / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Coney Island, NY) – The 43nd Annual Mermaid Parade kicks off on Saturday, June 21, 2025 along the iconic Coney Island Boardwalk.
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!
The event pays tribute to a century of Coney Island ingenuity, revelry, and pageantry by celebrating the artistic vision of the masses. With everything from a crowned King Neptune and Queen Mermaid, fantastical sea creatures and “mer-folk”, marching bands and dancing groups, to baby strollers and mechanized floats, it showcases the creativity of individuals from the five boroughs and beyond. It opens the summer with a true celebration of incredible art, NYC’s entrepreneurial spirit, and our community pride. It also ensures a successful summer season by drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the amusement area, providing an economic boost to local businesses.
