Mermaids return to the South Carolina Aquarium for three weekends

A popular annual draw for South Carolina Aquarium made their return to the Charleston visitor attraction on Friday for a series of weekend performances.

Four members of the Weeki Wachee Mermaids from Spring Hill, Fla., will perform on the hour Saturday and Sunday and then again April 7–9 and April 14–15 as part of the regular admission price.

They will also give a special $40 nighttime performance from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.

About 1,000 schoolchildren were on hand for the first show Friday morning. They were visiting the Aquarium on a field trip that just happened to coincide with the extra attraction, spokeswoman Beth Nathan said.

One mermaid performed in the Great Ocean Tank on the main floor while another posed for photos with children upstairs. Photo packages are not included in the admission price and start at $25.

This is the fourth year the Aquarium has hired the mermaids from Weeki Wachee Springs State Park for spring performances. It’s the first time the shows have been scheduled over weekends instead of seven or nine consecutive days.

Last year’s performances boosted attendance about 10 percent, which more than paid for the $14,500 cost of bringing the group to Charleston, according to a report from the Aquarium.

This year’s travel expenses will be about $20,000. A report will be issued after the shows are over to see how changing the schedule paid off.