Coney Island Mermaid Parade in New York City (2014)

The Coney Island Mermaid parade is an annual spectacle celebrating the beginning of the summer season in late June. Thousands converge to watch performers dancing and singing. Even Elvis showed up! It was mostly a happy event; however, a select few decided to brawl instead. With perfect weather we marveled at the extraordinary and often times risque marine costumes. What an event!

If you're in New York in June definitely consider going to the Mermaid Parade. I promise you that you won't be the only one there.

What I love most about travel is when you have an unexpected surprise thrown your way. Although pleasant surprises are certainly more appreciated than negative ones, I think a healthy dose of both really help you to grow as an individual.

Upon hearing about the Mermaid Parade from our New York City host, we decided to head all the way over to Cony Island from the top of Manhattan to check it out.

This annual mid June event, held since 1983, is one heck of a quirky parade focused primarily on the celebration of the arrival of summer.

Regardless of the weather, hundreds of thousands converge to either participate or witness what is going on.

What actually happens might you ask? In a nutshell, a whole lot of everything.

I witnessed signing, dancing, brawling and serious people watching. Performers were decked out in out of this world marine costumes with some choosing to wear less than others ;) You'll definitely spot some going completely topless and a few bare bums along the way. The central theme is around Mermaids and sea creatures and what the performers are wearing puts Halloween costumes to shame.

Paying homage to Coney Island Mardi Gras parades this colorful spectacle is eye candy for those watching and absolute gold for the photographer/video enthusiast. I could barely put my camera down; however, I did make sure to take a few moments just to witness what was going on with my own two eyes.

This is part of our Travel in America series. We're making a series of videos showcasing American culture, American arts, American foods, American religion and American people.

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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).

This video features the song 'Festival' available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Commercial license.