Thousands of girls from across the North East of England enjoyed two days of fun, adventure and camping at the North’s premier theme and zoo park on the 16th and 17th September.
Members of 2nd Newton Aycliffe Guides and Newton Aycliffe Ranger Senior Section headed to Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire for the first ever Flamingo Fling, where they were joined by thousands of other girls and young women in a weekend of fun, adventure and discovery.
The event was organised by Girlguiding North East England and was attended by over 6500 other Rainbows (aged 5-7), Brownies (aged 7-10), Guides (aged 10-14) and members of the Senior Section (aged 14-25). It gave the girls a fun environment to enjoy all that a large theme and zoo park can offer – from white knuckle rollercoaster rides to exotic animal encounters.
Attendees at Flamingo Fling also had the chance to enjoy some of their favourite songs at a fairy tale sing-a-long on Saturday evening after which Dolly Mix – one of the country’s leading Little Mix tribute acts – performed followed by a disco and virtual camp fire.
And the fun didn’t stop there. The girls also had the opportunity to explore the park whilst completing a specially created Flamingo challenge designed to help the girls discover the secrets of the park’s many species from Tigers and Zebras to Meerkats and Lemurs and of course, not forgetting the Flamingos. Flamingo Land have allowed Girlguiding to adopt the Flamingos and a special plaque was unveiled at the event.
Flamingo Fling provided the perfect environment for girls to explore their independence in a safe and inclusive space led by Girlguiding’s dedicated volunteers.
Guide Megan, 12, who celebrated making her Promise at the event, said that she challenged herself to “try the Hero, a ride where you lie on your belly and my Guide friends encouraged me to go on.” Guide Holly, 10, had her first camping experience at Flamingo Fling. When asked if she would go again, Holly’s response was “Yeah! Definitely!” Senior Section member, Zoe, 17, thought “it was great to spend a night camping with members of all the sections of Girlguiding and to reunite with guiding friends from the region.”
Region Chief Commissioner, Alison Gordon said: “What a brilliant adventure this has been, members of guiding challenged themselves to try something new and definitely succeeded. Everywhere you looked girls and Leaders were smiling and having fun, even in the rain!”
Girlguiding is currently recruiting for more volunteers to help deliver their exciting programme to over 400,000 girls and young women across the UK.
To get involved, visit www.girlguiding.org.uk
