Help! Rate request for Canadian waterpark ( from US)

[Mermaid Tory]

Hello! So I was contacted today by a Water Park in Canada asking for a quote and information for a Pirate and Mermaid event in March. I told them I'd need to know a little more about the event in order to give them a quote, for example it looks like a day event but she didn't actually say how long it was. So far I have only done dry gigs, but have swam with children while rec swimming. I told them I can do a swimming with a mermaid time in water and then switch to land for a meet and greet and opportunity for parents to get a photo of just their kids with the mermaid. I also have a copy of " The Brave Mermaid" that I could read.

I need help with a quote tho! My other jobs I had been given an offer and it was up to me to accept it and they had been on land meet & greet style only.

here is what I know so far:
it is 2.5 hours away and accross the boarder
we would drive ( hubby is my mertender)
I believe it's a day ( but if it's a weekend I'd have to ask for a room right?)
its at a indoor waterpark/ hotel in Niagra ( a big tourist area)

Anout me ( if this helps at all)
my tail is handmade sequin neoprene
i've been doing proffesional princess work for over a year and mermaiding since the end of summer
ive done a few different gigs but all so far have been indoors ( one swimming gig got rained out)

Any tips on what I should quote them or even stories of doing work at a waterpark yourself would be really helpful. Will the price be differant since it's in Canada? Again they just contacted me today so it may not go anywhere but I'd love to have so e basic numbers in my head to start off with.

thank you!

[AniaR]

Canada has strict rules about Americans working in Canada even for stuff like this. So before you accept it you should contact Canadian customs and be sure you're legally allowed to come to Canada for work, and that you have any documents you need. (I have to do this whenever I'm hired for a convention to go into the USA, and also my uncle is a canadian custom's officer) (sidebar we were already booked and couldn't take this, I think I did get an email about this lol)

After you figure that out (best to figure it out now and how long it takes to get the documents lest you be turned away at the border) feel free to PM me on fb and I'll tell you the rates we charge for stuff like this. If this is TO I think you can charge a bit more than we charge based on native standard, however I'd just ask that you charge at LEAST what my company would because we've set the standard in Canada and dont want anyone undercut ;) (and because we also are doing some work in Niagra later in the year)

but yeah I'm on FB just shoot me a message and I'll show you the rates we do!

[Mermaid Tory]

Thank you I didn't even think of that stuff for customs! I have my passport and everything and figured when we were asked I could just say we were going to the water park since it's right in the Niagara Falls area so there's a lot of tourists going up there already. But yes I will do research on what I'll need! I haven't been to Canada since they required passports. I went as a child to the falls and I think all we needed to do was show ID and tell them where we were going. It's the Great Wolf Niagra Indoor Water Park. If I hear back I'll send you a PM! Thank you :D

[AniaR]

it's really important. there are performer clauses so you should be able to go through with whatever forms they suggest. the problem is if you arent honest with them and they find out (let's say the park puts out advertisement that a mermaid will be there- and yes they check that kind of stuff) that you're lying you can be arrested and deported, and then never allowed back.

I know a canadian mermaid who does this constantly and I know it's just a matter of time before she's caught. All they do is see she's carrying a mermaid tail and she's going to X festival as a participant. They google it and see them advertising her as a performer, and she's done sneaking into the USA.

When I was hired for merfest all US customs required was a letter acknowledging my role in the convention. But because you're coming to Canada the requirement may be different.

It's just that let's say you act like you're just going to swim there for fun, they open your trunk and ask you what the mermaid tail is, you say it's for fun, maybe going to do some photos. They google the waterpark and the waterpark has a flyer saying come see the live mermaid. Well, they know you're going to work there and you lied. So you're in trouble.

With customs the rule of thumb is always just be honest lol. you get in less trouble that way.

[Winged Mermaid]

Yup, you can get banned from Canada for life if you're caught. Heck, I almost got turned back at the border because I had my tail with me, and they looked up that I was a professional mermaid. They asked me tons of questions, took my phone and went through my emails and everything! They went back in my email like a year when I was interviewed for a pirate e-magazine (free for download), and the pirate was apparently Canadian (I had no idea, the event was in Oregon). They thought I had been paid for being in the magazine and grilled me about that. I was like nope, I was at a charity event to raise food bank donations, and the interview was done online, and I was not paid. And I was just going to visit a friend, stay at her house, and go for a swim or two together. They had to go through my facebook messages and texts to my friend about the trip before they believed me that I was there for leisure only. Then they said that if they ever learned I made ANY money off of ANYTHING I did in Canada (even if I did a photoshoot or something and sold prints later) and they found out I would be banned for life. I didn't even monotize the YouTube video I made of us swimming together I was so shaken up about it (and that video is the 4th most popular one on my channel too, oh well). They don't joke around.

[Echidna]

:eek:
going through emails, FB, phone messages, grilling? All for having a tail?
what the flying fish.

That's crazy.
*takes note to not ever set foot in crazyland*

[AniaR]

that's actually very standard for customs all over the globe. there's a show called border control that highlights it all.

[Princess Pearl]

Also keep in mind that the Canadian dollar suuuuuuuucks right now. If you get paid, say, $100 Canadian, you're going to leave with about $70 USD.

Also, this post kind of proves WHY they have to check things so thoroughly when people say they're going somewhere "for fun" but they have costumes (or instruments, or things that look like they might be for sale). Because people lie in order to get across the border for work that could otherwise go to a local person. It's illegal migrant labour.

In other statements: OH MY GOD RAINA IS COMING TO NIAGARA??? That's a half hour drive from me!

[Ariel-Starfish]

Reading all this makes me anxious when I'll book my vacation to Florida! :biting nails::biting nails:

[Mermaid Tory]

Wow I didn't know it was such a big deal! Seems like a lot for a day visit. Of course I've only been there once as a child and then Jamaica for my honeymoon so I don't have much traveling experience! Thank you for the warnings tho. So far the only thing I found stated that entertainers crossing for a limited time to work a gig don't need a work visa but Still looking for any document or letter from the clients. I wish the US was so strict about preserving jobs for Americans haha

on the downside I havnt heard back from them. I'm not sure if they were expecting more from me then swimming with the kids and doing meet & greets and story time. Like they expected some sort of show or thought there was more then just myself but they did contact me so who knows. Good news is I have an event this weekend at the Strong Museum of Play and it's only 15 min away

[KayNS]

I had a similar customs experience when I was going to the US from Canada for a burlesque festival. I didn't tell them that at first, then they searched our car and found business cards and festival documentation. My husband and I were held for an hour or so and seperately questioned. Once they found out I was performing, they asked me several times and several different ways if I was making any money or getting compensated in any way for performing in the festival, including hotel compensation and tips. They threatened to call the festival organizer to double check. I told them that was fine, because I was not getting compensated for my performance. I'm sure they looked at the festival werbsite and my website and they also can look through your emails. They take it very seriously.

I also know a couple of American performers that have been denied access to Canada because customs found out they were being compensated for performances/workshops.

Some performers I know say you should 'play dumb' and hide the fact that you're performing, but it's just not worth being caught for me. My new policy is to be 100% honest from the get go. It slows me down a bit sometimes when I go to attend a festival, but I haven't had any major problems.

[Mermaid Tory]

Oh wow so I wonder if I'd be able to get in if I'm being paid? There must be a document somewhere to fill out so that you can work for a paying gig

[Princess Pearl]

Ugh, my original post came off sounding much more doom-and-gloomy than I intended. That's what I get for posting when I first wake up.

For a one time thing you should be all right- you don't need any sort of visas or permits. Just be honest, state clearly when you're coming back, and leave LOTS of time in your travel schedule for a border stop. (I'd do that anyways, the Niagara crossing can get crazy busy). If it was for a three week long gig, then there'd be an issue. A one day thing there is literally nothing for them to have an issue with.

[AniaR]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp

So these are the people who DON'T need a work permit:

Performing artistsForeign artists and their key support staff (people vital to the performance), only if they:

will perform in Canada for a limited period of time,
are not being hired for ongoing employment by the Canadian group that has contracted them, and
are not involved in making a movie, television or radio broadcast.

Examples include:


a foreign-based band or theatre group and their key crew,
street performers (buskers),
disc jockeys,
members of a foreign or travelling circus,
guest artists working within a Canadian performance group for a limited time,
World Wrestling Entertainment wrestlers (and members of similar groups),
people who will perform at a private event, such as a wedding,
air show performers,
rodeo contestants,
artists attending or working at a showcase,
film producers (business visitors),
film and recording studio users (limited to small groups renting studios who will not enter the labour market, and to business visitors) and
people doing guest spots on Canadian television and radio broadcasts (guest speakers), such as news programs.


So it's really a matter if customs includes you under those examples, since you're limited amount of time.

Now that just means you don't need a work permit. I'm not sure if you need anything else. You can always look up the customs office for where you are driving through and ask to speak to someone who can give you information.

[AniaR]

Reading all this makes me anxious when I'll book my vacation to Florida! :biting nails::biting nails:

It wont be an issue unless you are picking up your tail in Florida. If you are picking it up you'll need to fill out import forms for your country and pay whatever fees are associated. When I picked up my tail last year from North Carolina it was a lot of running around. Customs took the tail and I had to drive to another office, fill out forms, and pay money, then come back for it.


If the tail has already been mailed to you, and you own it. you're fine. We travel with our tails all the time with no issue. Just be honest/

[Ariel-Starfish]

It wont be an issue unless you are picking up your tail in Florida. If you are picking it up you'll need to fill out import forms for your country and pay whatever fees are associated. When I picked up my tail last year from North Carolina it was a lot of running around. Customs took the tail and I had to drive to another office, fill out forms, and pay money, then come back for it.


If the tail has already been mailed to you, and you own it. you're fine. We travel with our tails all the time with no issue. Just be honest/


I don't own my new tail yet, but when I do - I want to take it with me on vacation ^^

Thanks for clearing this up! ❤️

[Mermaid Tory]

Ok thats the same thing I found. Still havnt heard back from them. Its possible they asked several mers and went with someone who gave them a quote right off. I couldn't because she didn't tell me how many days the event runs or any more details past the theme so we'll see.

[AniaR]

Yeah we turned them down just with a simple "sorry we are booked" they asked us a while back!

Hopefully you'll have some luck though :)

[Mermaid Mystery]

just wanted to pop in and say that the waterpark is amazing. I hope everything works out, I was just there two weeks ago.