New York - D-4 - carmennieves-torrens.com

On the morning of June 17, 2017, I was watching a news program when the Mermaid Parade was briefly mentioned. I decided to experience the Mermaid Parade since I had never been to one. I got dressed and headed to Coney Island.

It was cloudy. About 3 stops from Stillwell Avenue, the train doors opened to let people on and off. It was raining!! By the time we got to Stillwell, it had turned to a drizzle but not for long. It began to pour!! I mean, POUR. Though I had an umbrella, my pants were wet up to my knees! My sneakers were completely soaked. However, the parade did go on! Everyone around me said the crowd was not as large as prior years due to the rain. This was my first experience with the Mermaid Parade.

I suppose the mermaids did not mind the rain since they are always wet at sea. Almost at the end of the parade the rain stopped and the sun came out.

What is the Mermaid Parade? It's a little of everything: Mermaids, Gay Pride, Mardi Gras, political statements, July 4th, etc.

2017 Mermaid Parade Royalty: Deborah Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie!!

The parade was fun. The people around me were fun. It was a fun day!!

This page begins with photos from Page O5, P5 and Q5 of the old site

My review of the show:

We went to the Ford Amphitheater, Coney Island to see the Temptations (only original member left is Otis Williams), The Four Tops (only original member is Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Mary Wilson (originally of The Supremes), and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (none of the Vandellas are original, now the Vandellas are Martha's sisters, Lois and Delphine). Show started at 8 p.m. and ended at 11:50 p.m.

Viewing of stage? Impossible. What was visible was the back of the person sitting in front of me. Luckily, I was sitting on an aisle seat so I turned sideways, moved my upper torso into the aisle and was thus able to see the stage. Not a comfortable position, though. Elton was not as fortunate.

Seats? Awful. We were sitting in Section 203, Row GG, seats 1 and 2. Next time I will take a cushion and get seats in the front row of any section since there will be no one in front of me to block my view. The show was too long to be sitting on such uncomfortable seats.

Sound? Awful at first but got better. When the MC came out, he could not be heard since the microphone was dead. Martha started singing without any sound.

Mary and Martha performed for about 30 minutes while the Temptations and Four Tops performed for about an hour each. There was a break between acts since each performer had their own band. The break between the Four Tops and The Temptations was longer, more like what I would call an intermission. During each break, I stood up to stretch and massage my aching buttocks.

The monitor on each side of the stage were not used to transmit what was taking place on stage. Why not? We were told the acts must request the transmission. Maybe the acts are charged for the transmission? God only knows!!!

Even with all the problems, listening to all the fantastic music was great! Duke sang a solo, "My Life". I had never heard him sing a solo before. He has an incredible voice.

Motown - Incredible acts, incredible music!!