Dear Shaded Viewers,
This year was the biggest and best Mermaid Parade in Coney Island…but it almost didn’t happen. From their Kickstarter site:
“A free parade is expensive. As the crowds have grown to 750,000 people
over the past years, we’ve had to contend with more regulations and
restrictions that have sharply increased the cost of the event. We knew
this year would be a struggle, but we thought we were going to make it. We would raise fees slightly, we would put on more shows during the year, and we would have a couple of fun benefits.
And then Hurricane Sandy came along.
Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the Coney Island community. It also destroyed our historical museum and performance space at 1208 Surf Avenue. We rely on the income from our popular side-show and gift shop, along with registration fees, to pay for the Mermaid Parade. With our building severely damaged and donations slowing to a trickle, our not-for-profit has had virtually no income.”
Needless to say, they raised the money they needed! I’ve posted 75 photos from the event to my blog which can be seen here: Confessions from the Velvet Ropes.
Now that John Galliano is on probation, the people are free to design their own newspaper couture!
Love,
Glenn Belverio
