Coney Island was, in the early 1900's, an elegant resort offering the respite of beach and the fascination of the rides, sideshows and boardwalk to over-heated New Yorkers. It then spent a long time in decline, but is currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance. For the last 30 years (as of 2012) the beach season at Coney Island has opened "officially" on the first Saturday of summer with the Mermaid Parade, a raucous, uninhibited, unabashed, often tacky and uncensored celebration of the sea. Select from the thumbnails on the right or, for a slide show, click on the "play" key that appears in the upper left of any image when your cursor is over the image. Let me know if you prefer the slide show format to the gallery format: Contact Me. See The Mermaid Parade 2013 for more.