100 [NSFW] Photos Of The Fabulous Mermaid Parade

Coney Island celebrated its old freak-show spirit on Saturday as close to a million revelers had a blast on Surf Avenue and the boardwalk for the 32nd annual Mermaid Parade. The weather was spectacular, the costumes ranged from creepy to goofy to sexy as hell, and King Neptune and Queen Mermaid—a game Dante and Chiara de Blasio, body-painted blue—were swarmed by well-wishers and the press.

There’s always much to like about the Mermaid Parade, and this year was no exception: the crazy energy and creativity of the sea-themed outfits; the enthusiastic flouting of NYC’s “nanny” regulations (public drinking laws are effectively suspended for the day); the decidedly un-gentrified feel to the three-block staging area; the shrieking delight of so many of the spectators lining the street.

And everyone’s allowed to get as naked as they want! There were the fully-clothed (example: our puffy-shirted-pirate of a mayor, Bill de Blasio), the fully-covered-but-with-things-that-aren’t-really-clothes (fish, swamp monsters), and the pretty-much just straight-up nude. And at Mermaid Parade, everyone, no matter their body’s age, shape, or size, is allowed to have exactly the same amount of nearly-naked fun.

http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/ap-photos-past-winners-ugly-dog-contest-24236424