To designate somebody a freak in a place like NYC is a bold and highly subjective statement. Yet if there is anywhere on earth where one is not only guaranteed to find somebody you can call a freak, but would also be sure that said person would be proud to be called one, it is certainly at Coney Island's long-running Mermaid Parade.
This may all change though if Coney Island US, the tiny non-profit who organize this event are not able to raise enough money to cover the event. From all of the money that has been lost in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and as a result of increased regulations, they are in more danger than ever of not being able to put on the event at all. This is where you come in. At 8pm on Thursday, June 20, Abracadabra NYC presents the Coney Island Mermaid Parade Pre-Party which will take place at the Village Lantern (167 Bleecker Street) to help keep this New York institution alive.
Gotham Burlesque Coney Island Spectacular: Coney Island is invading Manhattan's Upper West Side October 6th at 10pm at The Triad. There will be twelve amazing acts from NYC's best burlesque and variety performers, including Bambi the Mermaid, The Great Fredini, Ekaterina, The Great Throwdini, Miss Harvest Moon, Scott Baker, Tigger, Justina Flash, and more! Shelly Watson will host this sultry extravaganza featuring song, dance, tricks, and plenty of treats. Tickets range from $37-$49 and can be purchased here.
If you're ever bored or feel like life is getting dull, all you really need to do is trek down into the dark, murky halls of the New York City subway system a.k.a the Pit of Hell. Here, all walks of life come together. It's one of the few places where there are no barriers of status. The Wall Street guy rolls right along next to the homeless guy, all packed into one steel cage of potential madness. While most commutes go off without a hitch, we've all had our fair share of "unusual" experiences --sometimes entertaining, other times flat out scary. We're not sure what the deal is, but stuff goes on down there that you don't normally see in the streets. From crooners to gregarious rats, to the shoe-licking, inebriated, or masterbating creeps, the subway is the ultimate freakshow. Move over Coney Island, you ain't got nothin' on this...
Sometimes we New Yorkers get so caught up in the bustle of everyday life in the city that we forget just how beautiful it actually is. Sure, there's too many people, piles of trash, possum-sized rats, and reeking sewers everywhere, but despite its blatantly filthy exterior lies a beauty that can't be found anywhere else in the world. I had a chance to attend the Levi's Photo Workshop with Bruce Davidson last fall where attendees got a slideshow tour of his work and a personal narration from the legend himself. The presentation was nothing short of remarkable and it's an experience I'll never forget. We got to hear directly from Bruce what is was like being in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, and tales like getting held up in the subway as he was shooting photos, and walking through a dangerous Central Park at 2am in the 1960s; and how he gave up photography in the very lucrative fashion industry to shoot real life.
The rest of New York may changing faster than you can bitch about it to all your friends, but Coney Island is one little patch of the city seemingly safe from the erosion of evolution . It was timelessly dubbed the most bewilderingly, extravagant amusement park in the country over one hundred years ago and still phantasmagorically fits the bill. Coney Island helped transition America from the Victorian age into modernity, and today, some hundred years later, when we seek pause from our tech-saddled society, Coney still leads us into its labyrinth of wonder and illusion.
How many hours do you spend at home on facebook? How about on your iphone, trying to figure out how to tweet in less than 140 characters the mishaps of your previous night's bar hopping on the Lower East Side? (or staying at home and innocently playing board games while drinking Sprite, for the underage).
The answer? Probably many, many hours.
So why don't you sacrifice some of those hours and get outside and do some good while having fun?! Here are some upcoming volunteer opportunies that are guarenteed to lend a helping hand while providing you with solid, rewarding fun.
Ok, let’s get real. Its Independence Day weekend and here at Joonbug we take this holiday very, very, seriously. Our forefathers didn’t fight an entire revolution solely so we could live in freedom. No. They did it so each year we could properly commemorate our sovereignty and celebrate our liberty. And that is exactly what we are doing this weekend! Below are our favorite events to celebrate this 4th of July.
Dance.Here.Now Festival
When: July 1st-July 4th
To stare at Jaume Plensa's, Echo, currently stationed in Madison Square Park is like being live on set of The Shining (or in a Pink Floyd album cover, we can't decide). The L train after dark, which is affectionately (and accurately) dubbed "The Clown Car" makes a fine case for surrealism too. Or a Bowie Ball, Zombie Fest, Dance Parade, Halloween marching down 5th avenue, or being chased around the East Village by any other variation of the supremely crazy can feel, very defensibly, like mind-altering reality. Point is, we don't need Electric Kool-Aid to bend walls around this town. Which is why the assemblage of thousands of mermaids, mermen, sirens, Neptunes and other various oceanic aficionados has become a weekend that we now don't know summer without. The largest art parade in the country, The Mermaid Parade of Coney Island, in all its freakish, mythological, tripped-out glory, is one the best reasons to spend summer in the city.
The not-for-profit Coney Island USA (also founders of Coney Island Sideshow) has been hosting the annual, summertime gala since 1983 in effort to recreate eclectic Marti Gras-type festivals of the past, most notable between 1903 and 1954. Known for being the nation's largest art parade, this festival has come to represent not just a singing homage to Coney Island's rich 100+ history as a "playground of the world", but also the magic of kitschy community cohesion, and the sanctity of our very first amendment: the right to speech, and self-expression.
Astroland may be officially closed, and the housing developments are on their way, but Coney Island continues to fight the good fight. Last Saturday, it was the site of the 10th annual Siren Music Festival, which despite rumors has soldiered on alongside the Cyclone coaster and Coney Island freak show. This year was a solid one for the festival.
Of the fourteen bands playing, I managed to see half, spending most of my time at the Stillwell stage. I started the day with Wye Oak, a folk rock duo hailing from Baltimore. Andy Stack did double duty on drums and keyboard, giving them a surprisingly full sound.