Tampa Bay's First Flamingo Float Is This Weekend!
Flamingo fans in the Tampa area: if you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, look no further.
On Saturday, at least 10,000 rubber flamingos will set sail on the Hillsborough River as part of the city’s first-ever Flamingo Float, a fundraiser for the Children’s Dream Fund.
The organization is selling the tiny flamingos for $10 each with discounts for larger orders, and each donation will also enter the donor into a raffle for the grand prize of a 2024 Ford Bronco, with other smaller prizes available to a few runners-up. Rubber flamingos can be bought online, and you do not need to be present to win a prize, per the contest’s official rules.
Children’s Dream Fund is a St. Petersburg, Florida-based 501(c)(3) organization started in 1981. According to its website, the Children’s Dream Fund was established “with the simple purpose of fulfilling the dreams for children ages 3-21 who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and who live in West Central Florida.” The “dreams” they provide these children range from physical gifts, like computers and playgrounds, to incredible experiences, like meeting an idol or taking a trip somewhere special.
Shout out to @RaysBaseball tonight. They had 13 players in St. Pete for 'Rays on the Runway,' a fashion show fundraiser supporting the Children’s Dream Fund. These “Dream Children” with life-threatening illnesses walked the runway with some of their favorite players. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/h5CiC46QZt
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) August 16, 2024
The Flamingo Float is set to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Armature Works. You don’t have to donate to watch. If you’re a flamingo fan nearby and have the time to spare, check out the most flamingos you’ll likely ever see on the Hillsborough River!
Tampa Bay’s Flamingo Fascination
Flamingos and Florida go hand-in-hand, but Tampa Bay in particular has been hit with a pink wave lately.
In 2022, the Tampa International Airport (TIA) unveiled a massive flamingo sculpture. Standing at 21-feet tall and made to replicate a fabulous fowl filtering underwater for food, this piece gained traction among flamingo fans and The Popular Flamingo followers alike.
A naming contest ensued, and Phoebe earned the honors. The giant piece of flamingo art can be seen by all those who traverse TIA’s Main Terminal.
Things got even better for Tampa Bay flamingo lovers in 2023. In September of that year, American flamingos from the Yucatan and elsewhere around the Caribbean found themselves dropped in the city’s waters in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. The fabulous fowl is native to Florida, but the bird hadn’t been seen in Tampa for a while.
“Flamingos are thrill-seekers, like Tom Cruise in ‘Mission Impossible,’” Deby Cassill, a biology professor at the University of South Florida told the Orlando Sentinel in 2023. “They are thrilled when a big win comes because it’s smooth sailing. They have a joyful sense of adventure, so they might have flown into the wind to see how far it could take them. They’re on vacation.”
The flamingos didn’t stay for too long, as most vacationers don’t. But for bird watchers and flamingo fans, it was a wonderful time.
Tampa Bay seems ready and willing to lean into its proximity to the fabulous fowl. Stay tuned to see how flamingos find their way into the city’s life and culture next!
