Parade of Mermaids Feb. 10 at Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery
Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery will host the Parade of Mermaids, a gala event to benefit “P.A.W.S” of Lee County, Friday, Feb. 10.
“Although the parade has occurred five years previous, the ‘Celebration of Mermaids’ is actually in its 9th year,” Bert’s owner Bernard Johnson said. “The first ‘Celebration of Mermaids’ was in 2007 and featured visiting mermaid Kate Dale. Kate, who was the Coney Island Mermaid Parades ‘Best Mermaid.’ The following year, Pine Bay Gallery hosted a former Wiki Wachee mermaid Jo DeShay of St. James City. Jo brought photos from her years of swimming, including movie shots with Esther Williams of Olympic medal fame. In 2011, the ‘Mermaid Fest’ became a fund-raising event.”
Free registration begins at 5 p.m. at Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery, which is located at the northeast corner of the Matlacha Bridge in Matlacha.
All forms of mer-folk are invited to participate, including mer-children, mer-men and mer-dogs.
Food and refreshments, and also mermaid photographic portraits will be available for a donation to From Our Hearts. Prizes will be raffled off.
At 6:40 p.m., the costume judging will take place on the front porch of Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery. “This year’s judges will be local author Robert N. Macomber and local artist Leoma Lovegrove,” Johnson said. “Last year’s mermaid queen, Kristina Kell, will crown the 2017 Mermaid Queen, who will win a $100 gift certificate for Bert’s Gallery. Prizes will also be awarded for Most Original Costume, Best Mer-man and two prizes for Best Mer-child.”
At 7p.m., the Parade of Mermaids will leave the gallery, walking west to the crest of the bridge where the mermaids will throw an offering into the water, calling out a song to “The sisters of the Deep.”
“The mermaid offering has always been a sprig of rosemary, a fragrant herb representing memory,” Johnson said. “This year, the mermaids will each add another item: a pair of mermaid slippers (slipper shells). Legend has it that the use of mermaid slipper shells enables mermaids to walk on land. The Parade of Mermaids will then proceed to Bert’s Bar and Grill for more photos, fun and fund-raising.”
For additional information, contact Deborah Cole, manager, Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery, which is located at 4332 Pine Island Road, Matlacha, at 239-283-1335; also at pinebay@berts-bar.com or www.bertsgallery.com