Happy Solstice to All.  One way that at least some New Yorkers mark the beginning of the summer is to observe or participate in the Mermaid Parade, an event celebrating  the sea and the season, in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn for the past 28 years.   This year in addition to scantily clad mermaids and mermen celebrating the marine world there were also mixed protests of the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.   Check out some great photos of the parade on the tugster blog here and here.

Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade shimmies along in Brooklyn – but some protest BP’s lack of action

Coney Island’s Mermaid Day Parade