It was a real-life Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
A crew of mermaids, mermen and pirates gathered at Lot 45 on Troutman Street in Bushwick on Thursday night for an evening of nautical-themed performances to raise money for aquatic environmental causes. By all accounts, the evening went swimmingly.
“It is wonderful to find an event that is sparkly and glamorous and filled with costumes and performances and is also for something that matters,” puppeteer Charlotte Lily Gaspard said.
The fifth annual Mermaid Lagoon ocean benefit show featured music, circus performances, magicians, and interactive art installations.
Gaspard was one of many performers. She wore a seven-foot tall costume depicting Yemaya, a goddess of the sea in voodoo and other religious traditions of the African disapora. Her getup doubled as a projection screen for shadow puppets. As other performers took the stage, Gaspard wandered the crowd and showed off scenes from the deep sea.
The experience was deep, the emcee for the evening said.
“There was an immersive quality to the night, and there was the whole idea that everyone was a mermaid or a pirate and we were all on the Antarctic, because it is much warmer there this time of year,” David F. Slone, Esq. said. “It was great to hear some pirate shanties.”
The Mermaids of NYC, which hosted the event, plans to give the proceeds to Hudson Riverkeeper and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
