Mermaid Parade, Long Island Pride, Dead & Co: How To Get There

NEW YORK, NY—Long Island’s Pride on the Beach, Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade and Dead & Company are all rolling around this weekend. On the 22nd and 23rd, The Long Island Rail Road and New York City Subway are providing extra service to this exciting bundle of events.

If you're planning to attend or are using public transport in the areas, take note of the following weekend transit changes:

• On Saturday, June 22nd and Sunday, June 23rd, the LIRR's Long Beach station will have increased traffic and an extra six trains for those attending Pride on the Beach.
• On Saturday, June 22nd at Coney Island, the Mermaid Parade may cause the B36, B64, B68, B74, B82, and X28 buses to reroute.
• On Sunday, June 23rd starting at 3:40, the Port Washington branch of the LIRR will have increased traffic from Dead & Company fans.
• Coney Island-bound N trains run express from 8 Av to Bay Pkwy due to station rehabilitation work.

• Jamaica-179 St-bound F trains run express from Avenue X to Smith-9 Streets due to ongoing maintenance, repairs and upgrades.

Thinking of attending the events? Read on:

Pride on the Beach

Pride on the Beach is a weekend celebration packed with family-friendly activities. Its most notable event is the 29th annual Long Island Pride Parade, scheduled for June 23rd from 12 –2 p.m. Onlookers standing on the sidewalk can watch for free, but marchers must pay a registration fee of $50. The Long Island Pride Parade is the second largest Pride parade in the tri-state area—shadowed only by NYC Pride. It is also the only Pride celebration held on a beach in New York City.

In addition to the parade, Pride on the Beach holds a variety of activities. To name a few, there is a Pride 5k race, a Pride pet parade, a Pride Market Fair, and a Pride concert. See the full events calendar for details.

For transportation help to Pride on the Beach:

• All Pride on the Beach events are held near the LIRR’s Long Beach station.
• On Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd, the train service will operate hourly with an extra six trains stopping between Penn Station and Long Beach.
• The trains will depart from Penn Station to Long Beach at 10:02 A.M., 12:18 P.M., and 4:59 P.M.
• Trains returning from Long Beach to Penn Station will depart at 11:45 A.M., 3:45 P.M., and 6:12 P.M.

Click here to view the Long Beach Pride Weekend transit timetable.

Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade

The Mermaid Parade is a celebration of artists, ancient mythology and “honky-tonk rituals of the seaside,” according to its website. Here, New Yorkers promenade through Coney Island’s streets clad in mermaid costumes. They meet at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue, venture east to West 10 Street and Boardwalk, and finish at Stillwell Avenue. The parade is an annual tradition dating back to 1983. Over the years, it has become integral enough to NYC culture for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs to partially sponsor it.

This year’s parade is scheduled for June 22nd at 1 p.m. Again, onlookers may watch from the streets for free, but it costs money to march in the parade. Online registration fees range from $15 for child marchers and $30 for adult marchers to $150 for a motorized float. Marchers can still register for a higher fee at Surf Avenue between 21st & 22nd streets from 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

For transportation help to the Mermaid Parade:

• The D, F, N, and Q trains to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue are easiest ways to access this aquatic parade
• Coney Island-bound N trains run express from 8 Av to Bay Pkwy due to station rehabilitation work.
• Jamaica-179 St-bound F trains run express from Avenue X to Smith-9 Streets due to ongoing maintenance, repairs, and upgrades.
• The MTA's suggestion is to take the Coney Island-bound F train instead of a Jamaica-179 St-bound one.
• Manhattan-bound Q trains currently run express from King Hwy to Prospect Park, so use a Coney Island-bound Q train.

Dead & Company at Citi Field

In 1965, The Grateful Dead first kickstarted its career in Palo Alto, CA. Since then, the band has played more than 2,300 concerts—including a slew of spin-offs with other artists—and amassed a crowd of loyal fans known as “deadheads.” Although The Grateful Dead dispersed in 1995, Dead & Company emerged in 2015 as a new band with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti joining former Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir.

The Dead & Company concert starts this Sunday, June 23rd at 7 p. Ticket prices start at $45, but the best seats sell for $150-$4450.

For transportation help to the Dead & Company concert:

• Before and after the concert, MTA Long Island Railroad will add Mets-Willets Point stops on the Port Washington Branch.
• Starting at 3:40 p.m., 34 trains will stop at Mets-Willets Point
• The trains will continue to stop at Mets-Willets Point until traffic returns to normal.
• The first Eastbound Port Washington train with the Mets-Willets Point stop will depart at 3:40 p.m.
• The first Westbound train will depart at 3:42 p.m.

Click here to view the Dead & Company Mets-Willets Point transit timetable.

Fans commuting to the concert from eastern Long Island are advised to stop at Woodside Station in Queens and transfer to the Port Washington Branch on Platform B. When transferring, remember to keep the train ticket from Woodside and present it at Mets-Willets Point.

For further assistance with train directions, use TripPlanner+, a website run by the MTA that plans routes with service diversion in account.