Poseidon’s Parade—A Win for Rockaway!

By Katie McFadden

When you get to be a judge for Poseidon’s Parade, it gives you a whole different perspective, literally and figuratively. Having that honor this year, I sat high atop a lifeguard chair on Beach 97th Street as each individual and group gave it their all to impress the panel, in hopes of winning a coveted trophy.

That view gives judges a full overview of the talent of the performers, the artistry of the floats and costumes, the skill it takes to get Whalemina past the Beach 97th concession shade structure, the Poseidon passion of every participant,  the joy of spectators dotting the boardwalk, taking it all in from the sidelines, and the praise that the Rockaway Mermaid Brigade, led by Queen Mermaid Casey Brouder, deserves for pulling it all together year after year.

All of those factors made being a judge harder than it looks. The all-lifeguard panel, consisting of Liall Clarke and Jackie Kenel, this year’s prom king and queen, Christian Agoglia, Reilly Nichtern, Becky O’Leary, Sean Muldoon, Cody Maverick and I, had the tough job of spotting the best of the best in the 11th annual parade, and deliberate on who was deserving of which awards, which was made even harder with so many great groups and the offering of various bribes that were imbibed.

In the end, the judges came to a consensus, and Queen Mermaid Casey announced the results at the Beach 94th Amphitheater after the Merman band performed, DJ Kay-Kay spun some tunes and Ste”fun”ie painted smiling faces at the post-parade party.

The winners were as follows: Channeling their inner Jimmy Buffett, Dogaritaville took Best Pet. Connolly’s Rum Runners, serving up their famous piña coladas, earned Best Pub/Restaurant. Best Push/Pull Cart went to the colorful Portable Coral Reef carrying a mermaid pup and pushed by a seagull.  The Knights of Columbus’ Deadliest Catch, which featured everything from a boat float to cage-covered fishermen and women and an inflatable lobster, was presented with Best Adult Group (the Kristine Caruso Award), by the fiancé of the late and dearly Kristine Caruso, Kevin O’Connor. The gods and goddesses of Beach 101 impressed throughout but their dolphin-led chariot earned them Best Bike. The Best Children’s Group was a no brainer as the many little Pink Pony Club mermaids had everyone saying “aww!” Eric Dahl tore through the boardwalk with his reenactment of Sharknado, making him Best Individual (the Miss Colombia Award), which was a tough category with so many deserving contenders. Another no brainer was the always impressive Beach 92nd Street crew earning Best Block for their detailed rendition of SpongeBob SquarePants, complete with the whole Bikini Bottom gang and a SpongeBob float that could be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. But with that, Best Float had to go to another, which was a lifeguard favorite, Rotted: the Horn from 1925, riding in a car from probably the same time period. Best Performance went to the Hot Mess Express who time-warped their way to the top with their Rockaway Horror Picture Show. And topping their performance was return favorite, the Tailshakers, pulling out all the stops with dozens of beautiful mermaids shaking out perfectly choreographed dance moves, earning them Best Overall this year.

Congratulations to all of the winners, the participants, the judges, Bert Sanders on covering the beat, and the Rockaway Mermaid Brigade on yet another successful Poseidon’s Parade! For more fun updates, check out poseidonsparade.com  and follow @poseidonsparade on Instagram.

Photos by Katie McFadden.