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Maybe it's vampire fatigue, but mermaids seem to be having a moment. This weekend if you head down to the mysterious fathoms below—meaning, Long Beach—you will find a mingling of pirates and merfolk.
The Pirate Invasion of Belmont Pier & Mermaid Festival commences Saturday and it will last for two days. This isn't the first festival, but organizers say this year could be one of the biggest and bring in 10,000 attendees.
It's one of Port of Long Beach's summer beach parties. The event is free and it's being held at Belmont Pier. There will be costumed pirates (and a costume contest!), three pirates ships, a treasure hunt on the beach, food and swag. There will be cannon and musket fights and swordfighting, too. There are something called naughty wench floggings, but it's also supposed to be family friendly and there are plenty of activities for kids, too.
There will be grog and rum, but you can also head next door to Alfredo's Beach Club that will transform into a pirate pub offering tankards of ale to set you right. This year the club has added a "Mertropolis" where you will find 50 mermaids.
The addition of mermaids make sense—these are all creatures of the sea. But there will also be a crafting and fairy section. Unlike everything else, tickets for the crafting activities are not free: $20 for advance tickets and $25 on the day of.
Pirate Invasion of Belmont Pier & Mermaid Festival will be happening at Belmont Pier in Long Beach. It's being held from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sunday. You can park at the lot between the pier and the Belmont Plaza Pool. There's also a parking lot east of the pool. It's free.