Addie Jardee, one of the mermaids at the Sip ‘n Dip. Photo: Rich Addicks for The New York Times
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — For patrons at a Montana tiki bar that has a back wall of a window into a motel swimming pool, it’s typical to see mermaids in the water five nights a week.
So as the owner of the O’Haire Motor Inn and the Sip ‘n Dip Lounge in Great Falls began preparing to reopen the bar after eights weeks of coronavirus-related restrictions, she wanted things to be as close to normal as possible — and that included the underwater entertainment. Sandra Thares said she emailed regulators for guidance on whether mermaid shows could resume.
Gov. Steve Bullock’s office said yes. The Cascade County health department said no, believing pools couldn’t reopen until the third phase of the gradual reopening of the state’s economy. After some back-and-forth in which the governor’s office noted hotel pools could reopen for registered guests with social distancing guidelines, the county OK’d the mermaid entertainment as long as only one mermaid was in the pool at a time, Thares said. There’s usually two.