7/23/2023 0 Comments Miches sip n dip![]() On any given night, you could hear everything from Sinatra-era crooners to outlaw country by Johnny Cash to lighthearted Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville.” If you asked her, though, she might even play some of the more raunchy tunes she knew. If you requested it and she knew it, she'd play it. Inside Pat's head was a virtual jukebox full of songs. "She would always laugh and say, 'I don’t know why people always make a fuss over me,'” said Thares.Īnyone who's ever been to see her knows why, though. Thares caller her a gracious and humble person. We lost somebody that we loved very much.”ĭespite national and even global attention, Pat never considered herself a celebrity. ![]() "It’s a work family," Thares said. "We didn’t just lose a coworker. Thares and many of the Sip 'n Dip's staff had been together with Pat for 25 years. She also had a bad fall in 2020 that put her in intensive care, but Thares said she had recovered well. Sip 'n Dip owner Sandra Thares said Pat last performed in February 2020, but she was optimistic about being able to return to her piano. Rest In Peace beautiful music girl.” "We will absolutely 100% miss her"ĭuring the COVID-19 pandemic, Pat stayed home. “We loved her very, very much. Our hearts are broken. “It is with tremendously sad hearts that we tell you that our beloved Piano Pat passed away peacefully last night,” the Sip ‘n Dip wrote. On the Sip 'n Dip's Facebook page, more than 700 comments and climbing sit beneath the post announcing her death. Twitter immediately filled with dozens of posts from Montanans, ex-Montanans, politicos and journalists who came to know Pat and mourn her passing. The Sip 'n Dip Lounge will never be the same. Patricia "Piano Pat" Sponheim has played her last notes, passing away Tuesday in her mid-80s. "It’s just a quirky, weird kind of place.At a tiny tiki bar in Great Falls, generations of Montanans yelled "bum bum bum" to "Sweet Caroline" and "Where's the salt?" to "Margaritaville" crooned in a low, husky voice by a woman who spent almost 60 years as a beloved local legend. "We don’t try to be anything we’re not," says Thares. Sure, the fishbowls might double as bear tranquilizers - "I don’t know anyone who’s survived two of them," warns Mayor Kelly - but people are here to hang out over drinks, maybe eat some prime rib, and, of course, see the mermaid show. These all seem like elements of a rowdy roadhouse, but the Sip is surprisingly laid back. When they entered the bar for a cool-down drink, they received a standing ovation. And then there's the tale of the newlyweds who decided to consummate their union in the pool, unaware that the whole bar could see through the window. Mermaid Corbin's husband, a former merman, proposed to her underwater before he went back into active duty military service. ![]() The tank is also home to stories both heartwarming and salacious. "I put on the mermaid outfit and the little bow tie that Sandi gives people and I went in," Mayor Kelly told me. And during a local fundraiser about three years ago, Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly became a merman. Legend has it, Splash star Daryl Hannah once donned a tail and hit the water while in town filming Northfork in 2002. You might even see a familiar face in the tank. That really ups the surreality factor when you enter the Sip ‘n Dip. Known as "Electric City" due to its stout collection of dams and power plants, this is a hard-working ranching and hunting community located next to an Air Force base specializing in ballistic missile maintenance. I know what you’re thinking, but Great Falls isn't some hipsterfied town where kitsch blends into the nightscape. On almost any given night after 9 o’clock, mermaids swim and perform behind the bar, often accompanied by the vocal stylings of octogenarian lounge singer "Piano" Pat Sponheim. This colorful tiki haunt is where Big Sky Country meets Polynesian basement vibes. The landlocked state is the last place you'd expect to see mermaids… but that’s exactly what you’ll find when you stop by the legendary Sip 'n Dip Lounge in Great Falls.īuilt in 1962 as part of the retro O’Haire Motor Inn, the Sip ‘n Dip just might be the best bar in America you’ve never heard of. Montana brings a lot of things to mind: dusty cowboys, grizzly bears, and outdoor adventure.
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