This Saturday I went to the 31st Annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade on Surf Avenue. Actually I spent most of my time there in the staging area before the parade. Once the event started I spent about a half-hour getting some crowd shots and went home. It’s kind of a madhouse, but the staging area where the march participants set up and wait to begin is pretty fun .he organizers charged $20 to photographers to let us in and shoot to our heart’s content. It’s just enough to keep things from getting too crowded. All the marchers are there to be seen, and are more than happy to have their photo taken, whether in a pose or a candid moment. The event bills itself as the “world’s biggest art parade,” which apparently means people dressed up in costume, specifically with some sort of nautical or sea theme.