Tune in to Divabetic’s podcast on the 42nd Annual Mermaid Parade with our guests, Coney Island USA’s Artistic Director Adam Rinn and Poet Lorraine Brooks.
The Mermaid Parade is the nation’s largest art parade. It brings together creative minds in art and fashion and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Brooklyn’s amusement district. The Parade originated to help preserve the tradition of Mardi Gras-type events popular in Coney Island between 1903 and 1954.
This year, painter, performer, and sideshow historian Joe Coleman will be King Neptune, and his wife, artist, and photographer Whitney Ward will be Queen Mermaid. The couple will officially open the beaches for the beginning of summer and celebrate the sun, sand, sea, and salt air.
Our first guest, Adam Rinn, Coney Island USA’s Artistic Director, is a Coney Island native who has worked as a sword swallower, strongman, and variety performer for the past 20 years, so you’re sure to enjoy this fun and colorful interview!
Frequent contributor Poet Lorraine Brooks revisits her groundbreaking poem “Beauty & The Beach,” which premiered over thirteen years ago on Divabetic’s Roundtable podcast. “Beauty & The Beach” resonates deeply with podcast listeners and Diabetic blog readers. Since then, we have reshared Lorraine’s poem on body love, swimwear, and beaches on subsequent podcasts and blog entries.
During our interview, Lorraine shares how her opinions about her body and wearing a swimsuit have changed over the past decade, but her feelings about her diabetes diagnosis have not. She emphasizes the time, effort, and care she has put into her diabetes management, which has helped her remain free of diabetes-related complications.
Our discussion also touches on how negative self-talk can hinder us from enjoying life. Lorraine has agreed to revisit the themes of body love, beaches, and swimwear in a new poem entitled “Summer Skin” for this podcast.
Was it an accident or foul play? Now Mr. Divabetic’s grilling Burlesque dancers, a lifeguard lothario, a gypsy fortune teller, and some sequined mermaids, all intent on keeping their secrets buried deep within the sand.
Can Mr. Divabetic overcome his green pea phobia in time to prove Coach’s death was a murder, not an accident? Or will he end up floating out to sea? Will he sink or swim? Tune in to find out if he can solve the murder of his former swim coach with the help of his nosey Italian mother and friends. Along the way to revealing the identity of the murderer, he uncovers expert tips for diabetes self-care during the Summer months.
FEATURING Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, USA Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst-Nicolay MEd, NDRT, Lorraine Brooks, Catherine Schuller, We Are Diabetes Founder Asha Brown, Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’, Mama Rose Marie, and Seveda Williams.