This WA mermaid festival is so popular it expanded to every weekend in April
If you’ve been yearning to get out of town and hit the open road for some art and adventure, head toward the ocean, where the International Mermaid Museum Festival will be in full swing for the rest of April.
The free, family-friendly, all-ages, multi-day event is on throughout the month of April. In fact, the annual event started in 2021 but has been so popular that this year it was expanded from one weekend in April to every weekend for the entire month.
The remainder of 2025’s run will be this weekend (April 19 and 20), and next weekend (April 26 and 27) from noon to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
According to museum director Kim Roberts, about 1,000 people have been coming from all over the Pacific Northwest for each day of the festival so far.
“We have amazing, world-class performances,” Roberts said in an interview. She added that there are also 60 vendors participating this year.
The IMMF is one of less than a dozen mermaid festivals across the U.S. It’s also one of the earliest mer-festivals of the national season that extends into August, and the largest such event in Washington.
Roberts said they are careful to count guests and to ask people where they come from. Visitors have traveled from as far away as Bellingham, Portland, Tri-Cities and even Boise, Idaho for the magic atmosphere.
The festival will feature appearances by Una the Mermaid in her own tank, and several “pods” of professional mermaid groups.
Not all of the professional mermaids on hand will be in water like Una. Instead, they’ll give visitors a chance to interact with them on land.
“We have the South Sound Pod, the Mutiny Pod, Mystic Menagerie, Portland Cove, Ono Wahine Pod, Cascadia Pod and the Spokane Pod,” Roberts said.
There are roughly about 1,000 professional mermaids in the entire U.S., according to Roberts and media reports. That makes the Washington state gathering even more special.
But the festival is not just for mermaids; there are other characters in the mix to entertain visitors.
“We have quite a few pirates there,” Roberts said. “Mermaids seem to draw pirates.”
The Pacific Northwest Unicorns known as Sky and Blue will also be on hand for unicorn rides.
Other entertainment includes award-winning fire dancer and mermaid Rachel Novak, and a possible appearance by someone dressed as a sasquatch.
The International Mermaid Museum is located about halfway between Aberdeen and Westport, just off Highway 105, at the Westport Winery Garden Resort.
This story was originally published April 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "This WA mermaid festival is so popular it expanded to every weekend in April."
