Miss Arkansas USA and Miss Arkansas Teen USA will visit Magic Springs Theme and Water Park on Monday to participate in the park's Mermaid Monday event.
Miss Arkansas USA Mackenzie Hinderberger and Miss Arkansas Teen USA Mackenzie Scott reached out to Magic Springs to visit the park, and Seth Louton, the park's sales and marketing manager, thought Mermaid Mondays would be a great time for the pageant winners to visit, he said.
"It would just seem to be a match made in heaven," he said. "And so, they're going to be here next Monday, and they're gonna sit down, they're gonna have meet and greets as well with the kids and just answer a couple questions while they're there, along with the mermaid. And we're really looking forward to it, and we think that it's going to be a good time for everyone."
The pageant winners will be at the park from 1 to 2 p.m. on Monday during Mermaid Monday's afternoon event. However, the mermaid will return from 4 to 5 p.m. that evening.
"I just thought it was really cute that they have live mermaids for all these little kids that believe in mermaids, and it just makes them feel magical," said Mackenzie Scott, Miss Arkansas Teen USA. "It's like Disneyland almost."
Scott, originally from Fayetteville, has visited Hot Springs before, but Monday will be her first time to visit Magic Springs Theme and Water Park, she said.
"I'm very excited," she said. "I just think it's gonna be the most magical day. It's gonna make everybody just so happy, and all the little kids' faces, I'm just so excited to see their reaction when they see a live mermaid."
"Parents love it, and the kids that come to the park, they're absolutely enamored with it," Louton said. "We had our first Mermaid Monday (on July 10). Kids were lined up, waiting for them to get there. They enjoyed the story time, and they also enjoyed being able to sit down with the mermaid and talk and have their pictures taken."
The park's last Mermaid Monday event will take place on July 24. Today from 6-9 p.m., for Family Fun Fridays, the park will host a luau party, with two extra hours in the wave pool, live music and luau dancers, its website said.
The park will also host a birthday party in celebration of the theme park's 45th anniversary on July 21 from 6-9 p.m. The event will include cupcakes, a DJ, games and giveaways, Louton said.
While this summer has been unusually filled with rain, Magic Springs has still seen a good attendance in visitors to the park, he said.
"It's been raining, but overall, guests have really enjoyed the things that we have at the park this year. They've been enjoying a lot of our special events," he said.
"We just had a foam party last Friday, and that foam party was a lot of fun for a lot of people. A lot of kids were just playing in the foam. We kept the wave pool open two extra hours. Everyone was having a good time, and so guests are really enjoying the park, and they're super excited about our summer concert series. It's been going on for a few weeks now, and we've seen great attendance at that," Louton said.
Magic Springs is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays until Aug. 12. Information on ticket options and prices can be found on the park's website at www.magicsprings.com/index.php.
Miss Arkansas Teen USA Mackenzie Scott, left, and Miss Arkansas USA Mackenzie Hinderberger plan to visit Magic Springs Theme and Water Park for Monday's Mermaid Monday event from 1-2 p.m. – Submitted photo.