Thousands of vibrant underwater creatures seemed to wash up on the Coney Island shores on Saturday, June 18. Despite the gloomy day in Brooklyn, the streets were filled with music, color and festivity.

@asicentral 2022 Coney Island Mermaid Parade 🧜‍♀️ Can you spot the promo? #coneyislandmermaidparade #promotionalproducts ♬ original sound - Disney

The glimmering crowds marched from Surf Avenue to Steeplechase Plaza like gaudy schools of fish. The 40^th Mermaid Parade, a summer celebration of art and mythology, was back for the first time since 2019, following two years of pandemic-related cancellations.

Coney Island USA and the Coney Island Brewing Company co-presented the 40^th Mermaid Parade on June 18, marked by this graphic that was sold on magazines and posters.

The event attracted vendors, artists, musicians, activists and partiers across the five boroughs in what is known as the largest art parade in the nation. It featured Mermaid Parade merch including T-shirts, tank tops, tote bags, pins and magnets.

Street vendors took advantage of the crowds to sell an array of products, including live turtles, friendship bracelets, pride flags, balloons and bucket hats. The official gift shops featured Coney Island Mermaid Parade merch, which mainly consisted of shirts and tote bags with various aquatic designs. The shops also sold branded flasks, posters, pins, mugs, hats and magnets.

Graphic tanks and tote bags embodied the spirit of the event with a mermaid and octopus design featuring the words “Thrills,” “Freaks” and “Alive.” The official gift shop featured other logoed merch including buttons and magnets.

Thousands of marchers and attendees came decked out in costumes, most of which were handmade. Streets were flooded with antique cars, motorized floats and marchers sporting fishnets, bright wigs, seashells, flippers and fins. One marcher wore a dazzling headpiece with seashells, starfish and peacock feathers, a gold beaded necklace and body chain, a shimmering red mermaid tail and a matching cape. He danced around in 6-inch platform boots, appearing as if he was on stilts.

A marcher twirls in the street wearing a flowing red cape and starfish headpiece in front of the original Nathan’s Hot Dogs, a chain with true Coney Island roots, as a decorative float makes its way down the street, using the opportunity to promote another Coney Island USA event.

“The vibes are amazing,” attendee Elena Borghi told gothamist. “You can feel the energy. This is something about New York; I think that the energy is real, you can touch it almost.”

The Mermaid Parade was founded in 1983 with the goal to elevate esteem for Coney Island, a place usually disregarded as an entertainment hub. It also brings mythology to life for locals who reside on streets like Mermaid or Neptune, and provides an opportunity for public, artistic self-expression. The parade has no ethnic, religious or commercial affiliations.

A woman dressed in a seahorse costume rolls down the street as a mermaid-shark-cowboy tries to catch her with a lasso. Two parade-attendees pose as King Triton wearing floor-length sequined tails and seashell necklaces.

Each year, the event is put on by Coney Island USA, the resident not-for-profit arts center in Coney Island. It’s supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and was co-presented by the Coney Island Brewing Company this year.

At the conclusion of the parade, attendees celebrated the opening of the ocean for the summer swimming season with an official beach ceremony, and the Coney Island Brewery held an afterparty.

Prideful and free-spirited energy pulsated as music played and people danced down the streets of Coney Island on Saturday. It was a testament to people’s excitement for in-person events – and a colorful reminder of the power of branded merch and promo products.