Live Mermaids Make This Montana Dive Bar One of Our Great National Treasures

[Celerity]

Mythical mermaids and a legendary lounge singer, in the last place you'd expect.

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/sip-n-dip-lounge-great-falls-montana-tiki-bar



MONTANA BRINGS A LOT OF THINGS TO MIND: dusty cowboys, grizzly bears, and outdoor adventure. The landlocked state is the last place you'd expect to see mermaids… but that’s exactly what you’ll find when you stop by the legendary Sip 'n Dip Lounge in Great Falls. Built in 1962 as part of the retro O’Haire Motor Inn, the Sip ‘n Dip just might be the best bar in America you’ve never heard of. This colorful tiki haunt is where Big Sky Country meets Polynesian basement vibes. On almost any given night after 9 o’clock, mermaids swim and perform behind the bar, often accompanied by the vocal stylings of octogenarian lounge singer "Piano" Pat Sponheim.

I know what you’re thinking, but Great Falls isn't some hipsterfied town where kitsch blends into the nightscape. Known as "Electric City" due to its stout collection of dams and power plants, this is a hard-working ranching and hunting community located next to an Air Force base specializing in ballistic missile maintenance. That really ups the surreality factor when you enter the Sip ‘n Dip.

I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT, MOVING TO MONTANA, THAT I WOULD BE A MERMAID, says Lauren Christenson, a native of suburban Chicago.

Christenson is one of 11 mermaids currently employed at the legendary venue. During her four hour shift, she'll swim up to the large windows behind the bar (which shares a wall with the attached hotel’s 21,000-gallon swimming pool) and make gestures of encouragement to patrons as they tackle massive rum cocktails like the signature 52-ounce Fishbowl. The mermaid gimmick is the brainchild of Sip ‘n Dip owner Sandra Thares, in 1996. When I told my dad about the idea, he replied: ‘You will live to regret this, but it’s probably the best idea you’ve ever had.’

The initial show wasn't exactly a high-production affair. I had a little housekeeper who said she was a pretty good swimmer, recalls Thares of their first mermaid show on New Year’s Eve ‘96. So we bought a green plastic tablecloth and we literally duct taped it around her waist and ankles. She jumped in and flopped around for about two minutes and got out. And she was our very first mermaid. Twenty-four years later, mermaids now can be seen six to seven nights a week. Thares custom-sews two to three tails for each mermaid, which can weigh anywhere between ten and 50 pounds when wet depending on how elaborate she gets with the layering.

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[procon]

1. I remember mermaid shows at those big roadside tourist

attractions in Florida and Texas in the 60s. The pools for the mermaids had painted backgrounds, one I remember was a fantasy castle under the sea, and a giant clamshell to relax in that cleverly disguised their air hose in the greenery.

They had a big treasure chest in their pool where the mermaids tried on crowns and necklaces and even squabbled over the jewellery until one of the bar guys would run out and when then you saw him next he was swimming with the mermaids and trying to break up their fight. It was fun.

My dad loved stopping at those places to take pictures posed with the mermaids, or pose the whole family with the cement dinosaurs. He took photos of the pretty girls doing fancy trick riding on galloping horses. He took pictures of the gunslingers in a shootout in the "authentic" Western movie set, he was easily amused and all those old photos still make me smile.

[Celerity]

3. Thanks for the wonderful background.

[ironflange]

2. Been there!

Couple of years ago, on our eclipse trip. Great fun.

[Celerity]

4. I hope we get a chance to see it someday. Thanks for the reply.