The Coney Island Mermaid Parade is an art parade held annually in Coney Island , Brooklyn , New York . The event, the largest art parade in the United States, is held each year in June and celebrates the arrival of the summer season. Created and produced by the non-profit arts organization Coney Island USA , the 40th annual parade was held on June 18, 2022.
17-605: The Mermaid Parade traditionally takes place on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice , June 21, regardless of weather. Its intent is to celebrate self-expression, boost pride in Coney Island, and give New York artists a place to display their artwork. There are no ethnic, religious, or commercial aims. The parade pays homage to the Coney Island Mardi Gras parades of the early 20th century. During this era, Coney Island
34-483: A lack of money and resources following the recovery from Hurricane Sandy . It was rescued through a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $ 117,000, more than the $ 100,000 goal. The 2020 parade was replaced by a virtual event ( The Tail-a-Thon ) due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The parade was delayed in 2021 to September 12 (marking the last weekend that lifeguards would be on duty at Coney Island) in order to improve
51-728: Is arranged geographically and within the tables from the longest day to the shortest one. Times that occur the next day (21 June) are marked with . The length of day increases from the equator towards the North Pole in the Northern Hemisphere in June (around the summer solstice there), but decreases towards the South Pole in the Southern Hemisphere at the time of the southern winter solstice. Celestial equator The celestial equator
68-402: Is defined to be infinitely distant (since it is on the celestial sphere); thus, the ends of the semicircle always intersect the horizon due east and due west, regardless of the observer's position on Earth. At the poles , the celestial equator coincides with the astronomical horizon. At all latitudes , the celestial equator is a uniform arc or circle because the observer is only finitely far from
85-682: Is seen as summer's beginning. In Sweden , midsummer is one of the year's major holidays when the country closes down as much as during Christmas. The following tables contain information on the length of the day on 20 June 2016, close to the summer solstice of the Northern Hemisphere and winter solstice of the Southern Hemisphere . The data was collected from the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute as well as from certain other websites. The data
102-486: Is seen as the beginning of summer. On the summer solstice, Earth's maximum axial tilt toward the Sun is 23.44°. Likewise, the Sun's declination from the celestial equator is 23.44°. Although the summer solstice is the longest day of the year for that hemisphere, the dates of earliest sunrise and latest sunset vary by a few days. This is because Earth orbits the Sun in an ellipse, and its orbital speed varies slightly during
119-412: Is the great circle of the imaginary celestial sphere on the same plane as the equator of Earth . By extension, it is also a plane of reference in the equatorial coordinate system . In other words, the celestial equator is an abstract projection of the terrestrial equator into outer space . Due to Earth's axial tilt , the celestial equator is currently inclined by about 23.44° with respect to
136-477: Is the day with the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year in that hemisphere, when the sun is at its highest position in the sky. At either pole there is continuous daylight at the time of its summer solstice. The opposite event is the winter solstice . The summer solstice occurs during the hemisphere's summer . In the Northern Hemisphere , this is the June solstice (20, 21 or 22 June) and in
153-473: The Roman Empire , the traditional date of the summer solstice was 24 June. In Germanic-speaking cultures, the time around the summer solstice is called ' midsummer '. Traditionally in northern Europe midsummer was reckoned as the night of 23–24 June, with summer beginning on May Day . The summer solstice continues to be seen as the middle of summer in many European cultures, but in some cultures or calendars it
170-473: The Southern Hemisphere , this is the December solstice (20, 21, 22 or 23 of December). Since prehistory, the summer solstice has been a significant time of year in many cultures, and has been marked by festivals and rituals. Traditionally, in temperate regions (especially Europe), the summer solstice is seen as the middle of summer and referred to as midsummer ; although today in some countries and calendars it
187-441: The ecliptic (the plane of Earth's orbit ), but has varied from about 22.0° to 24.5° over the past 5 million years due to perturbation from other planets. An observer standing on Earth's equator visualizes the celestial equator as a semicircle passing through the zenith , the point directly overhead. As the observer moves north (or south), the celestial equator tilts towards the opposite horizon . The celestial equator
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#1732855339385204-435: The chances that it could be held, but on August 18 it was announced that the parade would be cancelled out of an abundance of caution due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in the region. The Mermaid Parade is known for marine costumes and occasional nudity. There are sections in the parade for vehicles of all kinds, for floats, for groups, and for individuals. There are also family friendly and artsy categories. The organizers of
221-594: The parade claim to encourage bribery , to give participants a more equal chance to win the various costume contests which are also part of the day's entertainment. Each year the Mermaid Parade features a King Neptune and Queen Mermaid . Summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth 's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun . It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern ). The summer solstice
238-415: The plane of the celestial equator, but infinitely far from the celestial equator itself. Astronomical objects near the celestial equator appear above the horizon from most places on earth, but they culminate (reach the meridian) highest near the equator. The celestial equator currently passes through these constellations : These are the most globally visible constellations. Over thousands of years,
255-404: The procession to the beach for a ceremony representing the opening of the ocean for the summer swimming season. The tradition began in 1983, when the first event of this kind was conceptualized and organized by Dick Zigun, the founder of the non-profit arts organization Coney Island USA , who is sometimes dubbed the "Mayor of Coney Island." The parade of June 22, 2013, was almost canceled due to
272-713: The year. There is evidence that the summer solstice has been culturally important since the Neolithic era. Many ancient monuments in Europe especially, as well as parts of the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, are aligned with the sunrise or sunset on the summer solstice (see archaeoastronomy ). The significance of the summer solstice has varied among cultures, but most recognize the event in some way with holidays , festivals , and rituals around that time with themes of fertility. In
289-472: Was the primary amusement park destination for those in the New York metropolitan area . Like the annual Village Halloween Parade , the Mermaid Parade evokes the artistic spirit of Mardi Gras . The event typically attracts about 3,000 participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators from all five boroughs of New York City . After the last participant passes the reviewing stand, parade founder Dick Zigun leads
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