Coney Island Mermaid Parade Seeks Donations To Go On In June
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Coney Island Mermaid Parade has set up a website seeking donations so that its parade can go on in June.
The website said the Mermaid Parade "needs your help" and asked visitors to make tax-deductible donations to help make the parade happen on June 17.
The site said every year, the parade "eats up a huge chunk of the very tight budget of Coney Island USA," which also operates the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, museum and film festival, and new theatrical work.
Visitors were also advised they may text Mermaid to 71777.
As of 8:40 p.m. Wednesday, 141 donors had contributed a total of $4,720. The goal is $50,000.
The Mermaid Parade is the largest art parade in the country. It has been going strong since 1983. The event is meant to be a celebration of the sand, the sea, Coney Island pride, and artistic self-expression.
The parade also launched a Kickstarter to raise funds in 2013, citing new city regulations and restrictions that have added to the cost of staging the event, and damage from the "malevolent sorceress" that was Superstorm Sandy the fall before.