A colorful parade marking the end of summer made its way down the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk on Saturday. NY1's Clodagh McGowan filed the following report.
Mythical sea creatures came to life at the second annual Poseidon's Parade in Rockaway Beach on Saturday.
"It's a time when the neighborhood can get together and celebrate one last hoorah of summer," said one costumed participant.
Creativity was on full display, with nautical floats and costumed characters taking over the boardwalk. Some costumes were more realistic, while others chose whimsical disguises. Hundreds of mermaids made an appearance; some danced and others traded their flippers for roller skates.
"The costumes, you could see they put so much effort in it. It's fantastic," said one parade goer.
'Poseidon' himself made an appearance at the parade.
"I decided to make it pop and go very royal, very regal. With the purple and then why not show some love, some pride, some every color in the rainbow," said Vincent Bonanno, the Poseidon's Parade Prom King.
Parade founder, Casey Brouder said she was inspired to start the celebration after participating in Coney Island's mermaid parade.
She added that this year's parade was extra special because, for the first time since Hurricane Sandy hit, the entire boardwalk is complete.
"It took a long time to get the boardwalk back. And now we can celebrate it, and create a new tradition that we can do for years to come," said Brouder.
Brouder said the parade is not meant to compete with the Coney Island parade but compliment it. Her Frida Kahlo inspired mermaid costume reflected that.
"I thought a lot about the autumnal equinox coming up and how Coney Island opens with the solstice in the summer and I wanted to kind of pay tribute to moving into the fall and say goodbye to the beautiful beach and the beautiful weather," said Brouder.