California Mermaid Convention
Hagan Community Center Pool, 2197 Chase Dr, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
About
The California Mermaid Convention offers three days of activities that include swim play, costuming, shopping, entertainment, meetings, workshops, lectures, and group swims in tail. Participants can attend a costumed ball, panels and lectures from professional mermaids, live underwater performances, The Promenade of Mermaids parade, children’s swim sessions with merfolk, open group swims, live entertainment, water performance workshops, underwater photoshoots, vendor shopping, and a community river clean-up.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: May 16th–18th, 2025, and May 15th–17th, 2026
• Price: A Main Entry ticket purchase gives access to vendors, open group swims, live entertainment, lectures and panels; The Promenade of Mermaids parade with vendors is completely FREE.
The California Mermaid Convention has been running for over a decade, and The Promenade of Mermaids has run since 2010. The event is described as the longest running mermaid themed convention in the world and as the best mermaid event on the West Coast. It includes exclusive live underwater performances at a venue with a 40-foot tank above the bar, and some events are completely free to the public. The event has a strict Code of Conduct, and attendees can gain free entry by volunteering to help out at an event. The Promenade of Mermaids features mermaids, pirates, steam-punk walruses in wheelchairs, and dogs dressed like lobsters.
The leadership team includes Mermaid and Mom, founded by mother/daughter team Laurie and Rachel Smith, and Pixie Tribe Entertainment, founded in 2015 by Ashley Rastad. Captain Angus is on the convention team as Producer, Master of Ceremonies, Convention Consultant, and Head Builder, and John Rastad assumed leadership of The Promenade of Mermaids in 2017. Merman Jax is a past convention Producer, Consultant, and Event Sponsor. Rachel Smith has over a decade of professional underwater experience and has been the Head Mermaid at the Dive Bar in Sacramento, California since it opened its doors in 2011. Pixie Tribe Entertainment’s founder, Ashley Rastad, is a Professional Children’s Entertainer with nearly 1,000 parties, and Marisa Renee/Risa Mermaid has been a licensed Cosmetologist since 2011.
Community involvement includes working with the American River Parkway Foundation to clean up the river, benefiting a local charity every year, and support from sponsors at Visit Rancho Cordova, which provides a room block at a local hotel. Mermaid and Mom states that they love to give back to their local Sacramento community. A testimonial from Visit Rancho Cordova, a local travel and tourism organization, describes the California Mermaid Convention in Rancho Cordova as “quintessentially quirky, refreshingly inclusive, and daringly bold” and notes that it draws the attention of worldwide mermaid hobbyists, seasoned performers, and journalists.
Last updated March 12, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: May 16th–18th, 2025, and May 15th–17th, 2026
• Price: A Main Entry ticket purchase gives access to vendors, open group swims, live entertainment, lectures and panels; The Promenade of Mermaids parade with vendors is completely FREE.
The California Mermaid Convention has been running for over a decade, and The Promenade of Mermaids has run since 2010. The event is described as the longest running mermaid themed convention in the world and as the best mermaid event on the West Coast. It includes exclusive live underwater performances at a venue with a 40-foot tank above the bar, and some events are completely free to the public. The event has a strict Code of Conduct, and attendees can gain free entry by volunteering to help out at an event. The Promenade of Mermaids features mermaids, pirates, steam-punk walruses in wheelchairs, and dogs dressed like lobsters.
The leadership team includes Mermaid and Mom, founded by mother/daughter team Laurie and Rachel Smith, and Pixie Tribe Entertainment, founded in 2015 by Ashley Rastad. Captain Angus is on the convention team as Producer, Master of Ceremonies, Convention Consultant, and Head Builder, and John Rastad assumed leadership of The Promenade of Mermaids in 2017. Merman Jax is a past convention Producer, Consultant, and Event Sponsor. Rachel Smith has over a decade of professional underwater experience and has been the Head Mermaid at the Dive Bar in Sacramento, California since it opened its doors in 2011. Pixie Tribe Entertainment’s founder, Ashley Rastad, is a Professional Children’s Entertainer with nearly 1,000 parties, and Marisa Renee/Risa Mermaid has been a licensed Cosmetologist since 2011.
Community involvement includes working with the American River Parkway Foundation to clean up the river, benefiting a local charity every year, and support from sponsors at Visit Rancho Cordova, which provides a room block at a local hotel. Mermaid and Mom states that they love to give back to their local Sacramento community. A testimonial from Visit Rancho Cordova, a local travel and tourism organization, describes the California Mermaid Convention in Rancho Cordova as “quintessentially quirky, refreshingly inclusive, and daringly bold” and notes that it draws the attention of worldwide mermaid hobbyists, seasoned performers, and journalists.
Last updated March 12, 2026.
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