Mermaid Parade 2018
Photo credit: Sachyn Mital

Amanda Palmer on The Mermaid Parade: "best day ever" (more pics)

The 36th annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade took over the streets and boardwalks of Coney Island on Saturday (6/16) with festively dressed mermaids, nautical creatures, and other revelers letting their freak flag fly. We posted one set of pictures from the parade already, and in the gallery above, you can find a second.

Amanda Palmer led the parade as this year’s Mermaid Royalty, along with her husband, writer Neil Gaiman, and their son. She wrote a little about the experience on Facebook:

queen mermaid, king neptune and prince ash. honestly, best day ever. too many photos to wade through but here’s a classic from the top of the parade by neil’s daughter maddy.

we paraded, we sat in our royal booth, we threw fruit in the sea, we (well, one of us) swam naked.

surrounded by so many of our friends and loved ones and so many artists and creative hearts.

PEACE IN OUR KINGDOM – let it rain sunshine and rain on all people and fish forever and ever

Amanda just released a new cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” on Bandcamp. The track is a collaboration with Zoe Keating, Sean Ono Lennon, and John Cameron Mitchell, and proceeds from downloads go to charity. Amanda writes:

this song was powered by over 11,000 patrons supporting us on patreon.com/amandapalmer. join the community and help us make more art…it’s an amazing group and WE. ARE. THE. MEDIA.

this not-quite-as-jolly-as-joni cover was recorded it live at Pioneerworks in brooklyn, new york while rehearsing for a one-night only super-group performance for Maria “Brainpickings” Popova’s annual poetry + science event “The Universe In Verse”. (brainpickings.org). 100% of these digital sales will go to the same charity that “The Universe In Verse” worked to benefit: The Natural Resources Defense Council (www.nrdc.org), who, in their own words, “work to safeguard the earth – its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.” the NRDC has been doing advocacy and litigation work on behalf of climate change, clean water and our precious earth since 1970. PLEASE BE GENEROUS WHEN DOWNLOADING! read more about the creation of this song on patreon: patreon.com/amandapalmer

Listen to “Big Yellow Taxi” below.

Amanda also hosts a party in a cemetery this weekend on June 23 at Colony in Woodstock, NY. From the event description:

Party In The Cemetery will be a very special night of Gothic celebration, featuring a full live set from NOIR – the latest vehicle for former Spahn Ranch vocalist Athan Maroulis – DJ sets from Mon Amie and a special guest appearance by your host Amanda Fucking Palmer.

Tickets to Amanda Palmer’s Party In The Cemetery: Celebrating Woodstock’s Gothic History are on sale now.

photos by Sachyn Mital