Marie Roberts, artist-in-residence for Coney Island USA, sketches Serpentina while she charms her snake.

Coney Island USA is a nonprofit organization that oversees some of the biggest cultural attractions, including the Coney Island Museum and Sideshows by the Seashore. One of Roberts's specialties is painting distinctive banners for sideshow performers like Serpentina.

"The banner is part of what gets people to stop and be interested to be to coming to the show," Roberts said. "It needs to be able to quickly use visual language to stop, interest, and amaze them."

"I met Marie and I was like, 'Aww,' and I fell in love," said Stephanie Torres Porter, also known as Serpentina. "Everyone loves Marie. She's awesome as an artist and she has the most history as far as sideshows goes."

Coney Island is in Roberts's DNA. She visited often as a child, in part because her Uncle Lester was a carnival barker there. She returned as a professional artist in 1997 and fell in love with the sideshow and the community all over again.

"To me, the sideshow is almost like a vision of the world as it should be," Roberts said. "We look at everyone's talents and abilities and celebrate them."

"I tour around the whole country, performing with circuses and sideshows and I've come to learn that to be painted by Marie Roberts is an extreme honor," said Meezee, a sideshow performer. "Many people are envious of the opportunity that I got."

Roberts also paints for Coney Island USA's Mermaid Parade, the annual celebration of Coney's sideshow performers, carnival atmosphere, and the sea.

"By the early 2000s, people were saying, 'Who's the king, who's the queen?'" Roberts said. "And I got the idea to paint the royalty so that each would have a banner."

This year, King Neptune and Queen Mermaid are folk singer Arlo Guthrie and his sister, Nora.

The banners of royalty are smaller than previous years. Roberts said organizers are trying something new so the royals can fit the banners in their homes more comfortably.

The magical parade allows people who go to dress as whatever they want to be, especially a mermaid.

Anyone can experience all of Coney Island curiosities — sideshow performers and all — at the annual Mermaid Parade on Saturday. For details, go to coneyisland.com