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Thread: HOW WAS MERPALOOZA

  1. #41
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    yeah no one can fault you for the weather, lol

  2. #42
    Angel's costume was the most creative, unique, self-made costume at the entire event! Don't worry about what those people say. Being unique is lonely.

    You must step out onto the limb because that's where the fruit is. That is what he did. He took that step out there to get the fruit.

    He walked up to my booth and the first thing I said was "BROADWAY TAIL! I WANT!"

    HE EVEN HAD HEELIES!

    Angle, after I recover from the trip we need to talk! When I get back into drag I would love to have you create a Broadway Ariel tail for me!

  3. #43
    If I was old enough to hop on a plane and fly to Florida for the next merpalooza I would but since I'm not...
    *Walks over to mom hugs and says "I love you mom and your the best mom in the world"* Mom says"What do you want...?"
    LOL Well at least I got a free hug out of that one.
    Formerly known as "kimmie".

  4. #44
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    You must step out onto the limb because that's where the fruit is. That is what he did. He took that step out there to get the fruit.
    I also think that statement could apply to the con as a whole perhaps next year more people will step in for the planning and helping process

  5. #45
    Well Mermaid Citrine and I met up to share a room at Merpalooza and we were there Friday thru Monday. For the most part her and I tried to mingle with the other mers and no one really wanted to talk- the first "meet and greet" by the pool never happened, there were just a bunch of "VIPs" at the bar by the pool eating dinner, and when we went to talk to them we were asked "Were you paid to be here? Are you a VIP? All these people here were paid to be here". Also one of the guys said we could get great under water footage if we talked to the camera guy and when we asked him, he said "yeah but it's $40"...wtf.

    Also there were no signs welcoming the mermaids/pirates...there was a Zumba convention down the street and an african convention in our same hotel and they all were very organized and we looked bad compared to them, in my opinion.

    There were 3 pools and I can't tell you how many times I saw girls putting on their tails, hanging out in a pool, then being told to go to the other pools where "everyone was" and then going to those pools and no one was there...this happened A LOT.

    No one was on the same page.

    Never knew who was in charge..still don't know who Stephanie is.

    The pageant was rediculious. The dj even said "and the Most Popular award goes to...." and the only people in the room at this time were the ones that ALREADY knew they were winning. it was stupid.

    No offense to Mermaid Kylee but she must have walked around with her crown and sash in a dress and heels the entire weekend. I even saw her at the pool getting her tail on with some guy following behind her like a puppy--carrying her sash and crown.

    The trade show was small--and a lot of what you can see online. Hailey was there with the "I am Mermaid" logos and she had a great table with more than just "mermaid" stuff, she was about empowering the women. it was really nice.

    The lady who designed the shirt for Merpalooza had a table and when I was looking at her booth I was told she did portraits. I asked her how much and she said "$900-$2000" WTF!!! Seriously what's with these people. Everything minus like 3 tables must have been a joke because who is going to go there and buy something that expensive! (on top of that they only took CASH---for things they want to be $4000??? come on.....

    The pool party was also a joke- some people paid, some didn't...either way there was never a "group of mermaids" like I thought..it was always "cliques" of girls/guys that didn't really mingle with anyone.

    Sasha did a fire act and she was AMAZING. that was probably the only good thing that came out of this entire event.

    nothing was organized, no schedule, it was worse than a high school planned event.

    Also almost all the footage you see in the news and online were not true mermaids, they were models that wore a tail for a few hours to do photo shoots. The "Merpalooza "red carpet"" that Kylee said...was only available for the people who were "some body"....definitely felt like this was a "members-only" sort of event...

    In the end--I didn't show up for Sunday because I was so disappointed in how things were going so far--I spent the day at Sea World, saw some Orlando sites, and made my visit worthwhile.

    I don't recommend anyone go to these events or "gatherings" alone for sure. because if I hadn't met with Mermaid Citrine, then I would have felt alone the whole time since no one was really open to meet new people other than the casual "hi, I'm so and so...."

  6. #46
    Also--alot of people kept asking why we would fly so far to be there (Mermaid Citrine from TX, me from NC) and we both thought people were coming from all over to be here. We spent a lot of money on plane tickets, rental cars, and the room...on top of the merpalooza event prices....and felt like not too many other did- most attendees were already from FL or were there to make money to make up for their trip costs by selling...

  7. #47
    I attended Merpalooza as well..

    I must say this first and foremost.. It was most definetly better than Mercon.
    Now Since we had to change hotels I know that caused some issues..
    Also the Wyndham had several other conventions going at the same time. We had a massive group from Nigeria there as well. That made it interesting.. I am not sure they completly understood us but it was fun answereing thier questions when stopped randomely around the pool prior to the event on thursday and Friday.

    I arrived after a craptastic 12hr drive (got misguided a little on my drive down). I had been at the hotel since 4am thursday. I did leave early on sunday afternoon.

    I had a booth at the trade show as well. There was a miscommunication about my tables but Steph and Murphy came up with a solution. I was greatful.. Though if seph reads this..sorry I was stressing.. wasnt you at all hun.. I get stressed out easy :/

    Since I was vending alone I really didnt get much chance to see the other booths.. I was kinda chained to mine all day.

    However.. Due to the large "promo" display Mertailor had. I highly recommend he be put off in a corner with more space around him. I was constanly haveing to save my art from being kicked and trampled by people trying to get photos of his mermaids. (Due to not having the size I was orgininally told I was going to have I had larger artworks leaned on the tables on the floor (not mad.. chalk it up to the venue change) )

    That alone was really my biggest issue.

    All in all I had a glorious time.. I met alot of great people! Didnt sell much but I broke even travel fund wise so it was cool.

    This was my first time in Florida... But being from Georgia I was used to the summertime pop up rain storms..
    That being said the storm that came up during the time we were supposed to go out to the pool was dangerous. I am very impressed by the hotel for thinking of its guest who may not be familiar with the weather in the area. There was alot of lightening..

    As for not going out ther until late... well its not like you can start handing out awards then suddenly stop and move everyone and start back up.. thats just too much chaos.

    The awards were not rigged..to whom ever suggested that. I won Best Mermaid Artist: Mixed Media. I am in no way popular. I was shockled that I was even nominated and even more shocked I won!
    It was my suggetion also that the artist catagory be split to different types so that it was more fair. It was also a new system for voting. So yeah theres gonna be slight snafoos.

    Honestly.. I didnt know there was supposed to be stuff going Sunday.
    My plan even if there was events was to still hit a spring. I had hoped to hit the ocean too but.. this poor mermaid was waaay too tired of driving to do much else than go to Rainbow Spring on the way home. It was only a small side trip for me on the way back to Georgia.

    To sum it up. For a "second-ish" year event.. It went swimingly!

    There is always room for improvements.

    Would I go next year... Heck YEAH!




    **Warning shameless self promo here**
    all art and other goodies I had that didnt sell willbe put into a newly created etsy shop.. including my magnets....
    Last edited by NerineArcticMermaid; 08-14-2012 at 01:34 PM. Reason: grammer/spelling

  8. #48
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    Stephanie Sims's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Krystal Patrick View Post
    Well Mermaid Citrine and I met up to share a room at Merpalooza and we were there Friday thru Monday. For the most part her and I tried to mingle with the other mers and no one really wanted to talk- the first "meet and greet" by the pool never happened, there were just a bunch of "VIPs" at the bar by the pool eating dinner, and when we went to talk to them we were asked "Were you paid to be here? Are you a VIP? All these people here were paid to be here". Also one of the guys said we could get great under water footage if we talked to the camera guy and when we asked him, he said "yeah but it's $40"...wtf.

    Also there were no signs welcoming the mermaids/pirates...there was a Zumba convention down the street and an african convention in our same hotel and they all were very organized and we looked bad compared to them, in my opinion.

    There were 3 pools and I can't tell you how many times I saw girls putting on their tails, hanging out in a pool, then being told to go to the other pools where "everyone was" and then going to those pools and no one was there...this happened A LOT.

    No one was on the same page.

    Never knew who was in charge..still don't know who Stephanie is.

    The pageant was rediculious. The dj even said "and the Most Popular award goes to...." and the only people in the room at this time were the ones that ALREADY knew they were winning. it was stupid.

    No offense to Mermaid Kylee but she must have walked around with her crown and sash in a dress and heels the entire weekend. I even saw her at the pool getting her tail on with some guy following behind her like a puppy--carrying her sash and crown.

    The trade show was small--and a lot of what you can see online. Hailey was there with the "I am Mermaid" logos and she had a great table with more than just "mermaid" stuff, she was about empowering the women. it was really nice.

    The lady who designed the shirt for Merpalooza had a table and when I was looking at her booth I was told she did portraits. I asked her how much and she said "$900-$2000" WTF!!! Seriously what's with these people. Everything minus like 3 tables must have been a joke because who is going to go there and buy something that expensive! (on top of that they only took CASH---for things they want to be $4000??? come on.....

    The pool party was also a joke- some people paid, some didn't...either way there was never a "group of mermaids" like I thought..it was always "cliques" of girls/guys that didn't really mingle with anyone.

    Sasha did a fire act and she was AMAZING. that was probably the only good thing that came out of this entire event.

    nothing was organized, no schedule, it was worse than a high school planned event.

    Also almost all the footage you see in the news and online were not true mermaids, they were models that wore a tail for a few hours to do photo shoots. The "Merpalooza "red carpet"" that Kylee said...was only available for the people who were "some body"....definitely felt like this was a "members-only" sort of event...

    In the end--I didn't show up for Sunday because I was so disappointed in how things were going so far--I spent the day at Sea World, saw some Orlando sites, and made my visit worthwhile.

    I don't recommend anyone go to these events or "gatherings" alone for sure. because if I hadn't met with Mermaid Citrine, then I would have felt alone the whole time since no one was really open to meet new people other than the casual "hi, I'm so and so...."
    Krystal, The red carpet was for everyone. *Now, before the rain and lightning Saturday night, the videographer and pgotogrpaher had a plan to have the red carpet area at the pool, so that all who entered HAD to pass over the red carptet to get in the party. The rain, lack of ability to do this outside...Made us have to bring the red carpet thing inside. That was for everyone, and it was intended for everyone to ham it up.

    Believe me, bobbing and weaving with the room and weather changes, I can see how it might have seemd odd on your end.

    You ARE somebody, I apologize if even for a minute you felt that you weren't. On Friday, the meet and greet was for EVERYONE who was there...No one was paid to be there except, of course, any entertainers who showed up... The intention.. and this did happen on Friday night...was to eat, frink, meet, take pics and swim informally.. It was intentionally unconstructed.

    I am very surprised that Kylee said anything about the red carpet..I do appreciate her as a former Queen and she was there to help, as pageant Queens do...If you had to be somebody to be on the red carpet, I guess I wasn't either, as I barely saw the red carpet..ugh. I really know her pretty well - I don't feel she was trying to be insulting.

    The pageant was the tail contest during the day...It was fun.... Everyone got awards and participation in our calendar.

    The awards, which were supposed to be presented outside, couldn't be outside, due to rain. Per the hotel. Hotel would not allow us to go outside until 8:30. However, our schedle did begin officially at seven. So that first 1 1/2 hours needed to stay IN the ballroom. Also, Traci Hines' concert couldn't happen outside, due to rain.

    NO ONE knew they were going to win an award.

    Everyone paid for the pool party. No one got in free. Most had already bought their tickets online and some had bought tickets at the trade show. The venodrs each got 2 free tickets each.

    We had some GREAT vendors... People did come from far and wide to come.Colorado, Arizona, California, Europe, Canada...

    *I stepped into the event when a date had already been announced and performers hired...but that was it., and I carried it through so that it would actually happen...Just like last year. A team would have been nice. I met vendors, in some cases, for the first time when they showed up to claim their table.

    *An event that I am able to plan, start to finish.....hopefully would not have had some of these concerns. I am not perfect at all by all means and don't mean to sound that way, but I was juggling so much, you would not believe.

    In the end, everyone loved meeting friends. i am sorry I did not get a chance to meet you.
    Last edited by Stephanie Sims; 08-14-2012 at 04:30 PM.

  9. #49
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    there's a great video showing some well spoken people http://www.orlandosentinel.com/video...ando-gathering and Jesse haha!

    Krystal, Im sorry it felt clique to you, you're not the only one to say that, and I've had several emails from people simply venting to me about the nastiness of a certain person with a giant display. Unfortunately, I think when people are all into ego and drama, they tend to bring their entourage. I can see that even in photos and I wasnt there, let alone all the people I hear talking about it.

    Is there a listing Stephanie of all the titles and who won? There are people I never heard if before, I found another Canadian Mermaid because she won international mermaid!

    It's too bad Hannah wasnt there. If possible for the next one it would be so cool to have a panel of people who specialize in different aspects of mermaiding to speak! Probably should start the thread soon haha for all the ideas for next year

    Also, if people find public photo albums can they link here so we can still see them?

    I was wondering if mermagica showed up this year? They seemed to be really present last year and I didnt see them in any photos.

    Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences. Thanks to everyone who took part and put it on too!

  10. #50
    @Raina: Mermagica wasn't there
    @Krystal: You should have hung out with me! I only saw you around a few times, and I didn't just hang out with one group.
    "SeaSparkles" "Spindrift" "Enakai" "Cuddlefish" "Confused"
    Professionally performing as Enakai Fairyfish

    Enakai Fairyfish: FB | IG

  11. #51
    yeah theego was there.i hadring side view of it.. plus theydidnt mingle at pool party

  12. #52
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    still trying to find public FB galleries that show merpalooza! someone sent me mertailor's, but big surprise, instead of photos of merpalooza it's mostly photos of mertailor... lol https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...6935969&type=1 oh well, have some tail eye candy

    come on Jesse! show some photos man!

    Michi did you get any?

  13. #53
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    I asked Cait to makes her public and she did, MORE PHOTOS https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1841618&type=3

  14. #54

  15. #55
    Hey Mer-friends.

    I attended Merpalooza and came from California with Thom Shouse and the Mermaid Rentals. I have had a lot of experience working and visiting conventions and I would say Merpalooza has been one of my favorites. Merpalooza was on the smaller side of conventions but this was the 1st merpalooza and these things only grow and get better. I always prefer a smaller convention where you get to meet and connect with people and don't feel rushed or overwhelmed to get through the showroom floor. I thought it was great that there were multiple types of tail makers there so people could see what is available to them, along with many accessories and art work for mermaids. I noticed the prices on merchandise ran from both low and affordable to high and collectible. I suppose the more work that goes into hand made objects the more expensive they become. I would love an even larger array of booths next year mermaid, nautical and pirate themed. I can understand why many companies didnt sign up to have booths. Without knowing a previous years turnout its hard for some companies to put money into a convention booth. I have no doubt after this years turnout, merpalooza's staff will be able to book more booths for next year.

    I feel like the schedule of events went smoothly especially due to the last minute hotel change (which was thrown on the hosts of merpalooza last minute...I saw a facebook post about this.) and the un-forseen weather we experienced. Despite these two things the hotel and merpalooza accommodated us by moving an outdoor event indoors until the weather cleared up. The hotel security did seem a little confused as to where we were allowed to swim but It was never a huge deal. Personally I always had the best time swimming in the main Mer pool because that is where i met up with other mermaids i didnt know.

    Almost everyone I talked to was very friendly and outgoing. Even those that outwardly said they were not outgoing, were very friendly and talkative to me. I can honestly say I made many new friends and a few mer-sisters this weekend. I can not wait till next years merpalooza to meetup with some of these new found friends.

    The entertainment was great! The stage was setup with a podium that had Balloon art of a pirate and a mermaid on it, a podium and a DJ. The music playing durring the day was fun and upbeat, the live singers and magician that I saw were very talented but the audience was quite small. The different portions of the pageant was fun to watch, which consisted of the different age groups, the gown, tail and talent portions of the show. You did not have to participate in all 3 areas to participate in the pageant which I thought was great!

    The one thing I missed was the red carpet event. I was so exhausted from packing to get to FL and having fun with my new friends I passed out right before the event. (There is never enough time in a day. Especially when your having as much fun as I had) I really wish I was there to support my friends who had won awards.

    I got to wear Thom Shouse tails, I got to try Merman Jesse's tail and was super excited when I found out the main mer-pool was 11 feet deep/ (deeper than most swimming pools)

    All in all I would say I had a Fintastic time and can not wait until next years Merpalooza!

  16. #56
    Angel the little merman your costume was AMAZ-BUBBLES!!!!

  17. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by AniaR View Post
    Michi did you get any?
    No, all the straight men seemed to be taken... Oh, you mean pictures! I got a few of my booth (like, 3) and a lot of footage of Mermaid Fawkes swimming in the pool (with Jesse), but not a lot else.


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  19. #59
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    Visit Mermaid Narina's Youtube Channel
    im glad the drama has toned down a bit now :3
    i wish wish wish i could go to merpalooza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    im actually going to america with my family in a little while, but alas a few months too late
    when im older and i have money im SO going to go to EVERY SINGLE MERMAID EVENT I CAN FIND!!!!!!!
    User previously known as "Natasha".




  20. #60
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    Please mark your calendars. Dates for next year have been set. The main day will be Saturday, August 10th. This will be out recurring weeklend in Orlando from here on in, in addition to any other locations through the year. *We definitely want to make MerPalooza in Orlando an annual event

    *For next year, We are going to book a location that has, again, multiple pools and hopefully an INDOOR POOL and awesome lobby so that if the worst happens, we can still swim to our hearts' content! If you absolutely loved the Wyndham, please let me know...and please let me know why. There was a lot to love, including the grounds, which were first class and made for terrific photo opps... Room prices were good...Should we go back there? If so, party would have better lighting this coming year by the pool.

    I will keep everyone posted on location. Thank you so much!!!

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