Mermaids Come Ashore

The community of mermaids in the Keys continues to expand with events like the Mermaid Festival, attracting some of the largest crowds. CREDIT KEY WEST MERMAID FESTIVAL / COURTESY PHOTO Saltwater suburbs, quaint fishing communities, and seaside resort towns have a history of leaning, to varying degrees, into the mythology of elusive aquatic beings. Key West is one such place. Sea-shelled bustiers and tridents are common sights at major parades and parties, while the outline of playful tailed figures diving with conch shells is incorporated into guest houses and storefronts. One member of the island’s growing population of professional mermaids, and perhaps its most featured, always believed that it was just a matter of time before Key West embraced the fantastical creatures whose influence continues to make a splash in pop culture and tourism. Mermaid Kristiann Mills, a local and conch, fondly remembers what she describes as the “first wave” of mermaid influences that shaped her during