Source: Animal New York
Bizarre Parades: Coney Island’s Mermaid Fest
The Mermaid Parade of Coney Island, NY takes the carefree spirit of Mardi Gras and combines it with celebrating the beginning of summer. This show is most notable for the thousands of ladies adorning mermaid costumes, often keeping with the Mardi Gras tradition of traversing the parade route topless, or with little more than pasties adorning their upper half.
Día de los Muertos
Everyone in the United States is familiar with the October 31st holiday of Halloween, but many are somewhat unfamiliar with the much older customs of Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Traditionally, on November 1st and 2nd, families visit the graves of their deceased loved ones and celebrate the lives of the departed – making it a much happier event than the name would imply. In the cavalcade of this ritual, people paint their faces as skeletons and dress as the dead, often carrying coffins or other symbols of those who have passed on.
The Texas Art Car Parade
Source: Jonathan Beitler
The Houston, Texas Art Car Parade was the first-and is the largest-art car exhibition in the world. People line up their bizarrely-adorned and customized vehicles and drive them through the town, to the delight of the 100,000-plus parade goers. The moving sculptures range from whimsical to truly outrageous.
Latvia’s Go Blonde Festival
Source: Travel Out There
Sometimes blondes DO have all the fun! The Go Blonde Festival is a yearly event that takes place in Latvia, and features droves of pink-clad blonde women strolling shoulder-to-shoulder through the streets of Riga. Aimed to cheer people up and to promote the economic growth of the region, it has become the largest “Blonde Festival” in the world.
Bizarre Parades: The International Zombie Walk
If you shed the pink for some purposely-soiled gauze and frayed clothing, Go Blond-ers can participate in what is known as the Zombie Walk. Events like these have been spreading throughout the world for a while now, but the macabre march originated in North America.
For reasons varying from just a twist on the typical night on the town to raising awareness and money for a charitable cause, people show up fully transformed as their “Dawn of the Dead” selves and moan their way down the city streets to the amusement -and sometimes shock- of the public.
Japan’s Phallic Fun Fest
Source: Lilie’s Diary
The Kanamara Matsuri, or “Festival of the Steel Phallus”, is held each spring in Kawasaki, Japan. A proud procession displaying different penis sculptures and other phallic symbols, this observance is centered on a local shrine that was once popular with local prostitutes, hoping to find mystical protection from sexually transmitted diseases.
Why the metal? One slightly lewd legend states that on a young couple’s wedding night, a sharp-toothed demon hid inside of the poor bride’s lady parts and castrated any intruders. In obvious dismay, the bride sought the aid of a blacksmith, who created an iron phallus so as to break the nasty demon’s teeth. It apparently worked, and the iron phallus is venerated by many.
Today, the penis parade raises money for HIV research.
New York’s Easter Parade
Nothing embodies the rebirth of your lord and savior like a gaudy hat. In recent years, the New York Easter Parade has become known as much for its over-the-top costumes and festive bonnets as the celebration of the Easter holiday itself. Women, in particular, don extravagant and preposterous bonnets and hats. Everyone is involved with this one; the participants as well as the viewing public.
Bizarre Parades: Pasadena’s Doo Dah Parade
Source: The Pasadena Independent
The Doo Dah Parade originated in Pasadena, California, and is a quirky and often absurd display of every sort of originality and flamboyancy you could think of. Copycat parades now take place in Columbus, Ohio and Ocean City, New Jersey. The Pasadena parade was originally conceived and created as a zany and irreverent alternative to the formal pomp and circumstance of the famous Rose Parade that marks the beginning of the new year.
The Lobster Dog Parade
Source: Flickr
Another Southern California tradition is the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival. Given the port location, the festival itself is not unusual or bizarre, however the Lobster Dog Parade (that has become a loved tradition) certainly is! Dog owners costume their beloved pets as lobsters, as well as other seafood items, and march the often annoyed and embarrassed animals down the port.
The World’s Naked Bike Ride
Source: Huffington Post
Last on this particular list is the World Naked Bike Ride, in which participants gather together in various stages of dress, or more accurately un-dress, to ride their bicycles in hope of “delivering a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world.” The dress code ultimately states: “Bare as you dare.”
While nudity is highly encouraged, it’s not mandatory to participate. The first WNBR parade took place in the exhibitionist-proud environs of Spain, but since has become popular around the globe, presumably bringing great “exposure” to the cause.
