‘Seas the Day!’

Almont woman dives into the magical world of mermaids

 

TRI-CITY AREA — In a world where there’s plenty of fish in the sea, a mermaid would certainly stand out.

Such is the case for Pixy Wright. When she’s not behind the counter at Monty’s Farms in Imlay City, the young entrepreneur can be found lounging around her blue lagoon, shimmering in the sunlight, tail glistening. In the vast sea of big and little fish, Pixy makes a big splash as a mermaid.

Her area debut came during the annual Ice Cream Social in Imlay City, sponsored by the Downtown Development Authority. Pixy also turned heads at the 2024 Imlay City Summer Fest hosted by the Imlay City Area Chamber of Commerce earlier this month. Families—at the urging of their little ones—stopped by her magical lagoon for a visit with a real, live mermaid. She says interacting with kids is among her favorite things about performing.

“I was so happy when the Chamber called to ask if I would be part of the Summer Fest,” Pixy says. “I just love interacting with the community—and we’re very big on community events.”

Fishing around

Thirteen years ago, Pixy cast her net wide and founded the Mermaids Lagoon in Pueblo, Colorado where she used to live. The community of mermaids has grown to 79 members who travel to 12 different states to perform at festivals, fairs, parties and special events.

Pixy recently moved to Almont, where she and her boyfriend Jesse make their home. Jesse helps Pixy with the mermaid venture, and while her Mermaids Lagoon has grown, Pixy’s deep dive into the mermaid world began years ago.

Mesmerizing, magical mermaid

When she was a little girl, Pixy was mesmerized by mermaids—something her young peers didn’t quite understand.

“I was the one kid everyone picked on after career day because I was obsessed with mermaids,” she says. “I would always say I wanted to be one.”

Her early efforts to transform included wrapping her ankles with a washcloth while in the tub, and straying away from group swimming lessons to dolphin kick to the bottom of the pool to see how long she could hold her breath. Pop culture movies—like “Splash” and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” just strengthened her resolve to attain mermaid status.

“Those movies were my life,” Pixy grins.

In 2012, when she lamented to her friend and mentor Robert Thomlinson that she’d have to leave her mermaid dream behind to be a grownup, he begged to differ.

“That summer for my birthday, he sent me my first tail,” Pixy recalls. “It was a very basic Eric DuCharme Mertailor tail, but it lit the fire all over again.”

And so, she dived deeper. Pixy donned her tail and took to the pool loooking for ways to afford a GoPro so she could film underwater. She joined some friends at the Renaissance Festival in Larkspur, Colorado. While in the Flying Cloud costume shop, she was overheard talking about her tail and finding ways to make a living as a mermaid. The crew invited Pixy to be part of their team at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival in Hammond, near New Orleans.

“I started with just my red tail, a planter barrel they flipped upside down for me to sit on, and blue fabric lent to me by the local photographer tacked to the side fence by the door,” Pixy says.

With a small box and a sign reading ‘Tips for Pics,’ Pixy’s dream began taking shape.

“I thought, ‘this is what I want; this is where I’m meant to be. I want to do this for the rest of my life,’” she says. “And now that’s history. Since then I’ve grown and inspired a whole community of like-minded people to dive in and tour with me.”

Swimming upstream

Though “mermaiding” is currently trending big, Pixy and her Mermaid Lagoon have worked hard to achieve their unique success. In the early days, Pixy made all of her own tails and tops. She now works with ‘Tail-or’ Merman Drayce, who makes prototype silicone and neophrene tails with Pixy.

“We are hoping to get back into making better tails ourselves and maybe one day start selling them nationally,” she says. “We still make our own tops and jewelry and accessories.

“Every cast member has a blast creating their own custom pieces and ‘mersona,’” Pixy grins.

All the world’s a stage pond

Pixy’s Mermaid Lagoon works just about year-round, traveling to Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Arkansas, Wyoming, Georgia and Louisiana for Mardi Gras.

“I’ve had multiple offers to join a Captain Jack Sparrow on his Black Pearl parade float,” she says.

When they’re not at festivals and fairs, the mermaids make appearances at birthday parties and private events.

“A few of my crew have even worked for acquariums,” Pixy says.

With the popularity of mermaid shows on the rise, Pixy says maintaining the Mermaid Lagoon’s professional reputation and passion for the art of mermaiding is paramount.

“There is a huge wave of new mermaids entering the world every month,” she says. “Shows and contracts get harder to secure and keep…Sometimes another pod or individual mermaid will take a gig without experience or reputation and if something bad or disreputable happens, it can be hard to convince a venue to take another risk with a different company like mine.”

Commitment to ‘Seas the Day’

Every single mermaid gig brings its own special rewards for Pixy and her team.

“There are so many memories in the pool,” she says. “We keep a yearbook, and at the end of the season I ask my cast to write down their favorite moments or funny stories from the shows. I like to put them in the yearbooks with photos so they can have them forever.”

When she’s not doing her mermaid thing, Pixy is a like any other land-walking mortal.

“I work at Monty’s Farms. I raise my kids. I spend time with my grandkids. I train my dogs,” she says. “I’m back in school to get my ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association) yoga certificate so I can teach yoga,” she says.

Her 16-year-long career as a dancer helped Pixy fund her mermaid dreams, though she sometimes finds herself in the mundane human world.

“Somewhere in there I still manage to clean my house and do my laundry,” she chuckles.

As with most successful entrepreneurs, Pixy has a long list of mentors and spirit guides that have helped her along the way.

These include Jon Tiffany of Chaos Games and More in Pueblo, Colorado.

“He has donated equipment and displays and buys inventory to sell in his store for us,” she says. “He has always been a huge support and pivotal to our growth.”

Pixy also credits her partner and co-owner Maggie, best friend Camber, boyfriend Jesse, friend and “partner in crime” Drayce, and new rookie mermaids Thalia, Kathy and Lexi, who have “been invaluable in growing my Colorado crew.”

That crew, she adds, has been magnificent.

“The biggest and sincerest thanks goes out to every crazy cast and crew member I’ve ever had,” she says. It takes some amazing, hard working, creative, patient and understanding and absolutely beautiful individuals to do this and put up with me at my worst, so they can make memories and adventures at my best.”

Pixy and her Mermaid Lagoon has been featured on Colorado Public Radio and in the Pueblo Chieftan and The Washington Times.

To inquire about Pixy’s Mermaid Lagoon or booking Pixy for a special event, send an email to mermaidslagoon@yahoo.com.