Flamingo Fanatics Society Hosting its Second-Annual Fling!
In September 2021, Las Vegas hosted the first-ever Flamingo Fanatics Society Fling!
What is Flamingo Fanatics Society, and why did it have a fling? First, let’s explain Flamingo Fanatics Society’s origin story, so it can all make a little bit more sense.
What is Flamingo Fanatics Society?
In 2019, someone posted in a flamingo fan group online that there should be a gathering of flamingo lovers at the Flamingo in Las Vegas so everyone could meet in person. Fortunately, the right person noticed it, and Susan Hyre, a self-described “crazy flamingo lady (with a purpose)” who knows her way around an event plan, put it all together.
“There is nothing but joy that comes to your face when you see a flamingo,” Hyre told McKenna Ross of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Nothing in a negative sense can come to you because when you see them, they’re peaceful, they’re tranquil and you can be, too.”
Originally, the first congregation was set for October 2020, but the pandemic forced an 11-month delay. But finally, the Flamingo Fanatics Society hosted its inaugural Fling earlier in September.
Birds of a feather: "Flamingo Fanatics Fling, the first convention of these birders, runs at the Flamingo through Thursday." Trade shows & conventions offer a platform & community for like-minded individuals to gather, learn, meet, grow and have fun! https://t.co/RAZlXnr46L
— Danica Tormohlen (@DanicaTormohlen) September 9, 2021
The event celebrated the wonderfully majestic creature, with the roughly 70 attendees who traveled from far and near across the United States to attend sporting eccentric outfits that emulate their favorite fowl, sometimes parading around the Las Vegas Strip in their popping pink.
Not only did the first Fling of the Flamingo Fanatics Society, which has grown to include nearly 1,700 people in its Facebook group, offer flamingo lovers a collection of like-minded individuals to have some fun with, but it also helped raise resources for the actual birds. The event raised $1,400 for the Bonaire Wild Bird Rehab, which has offered respite for the sick and injured birds of the island, namely flamingos, since 2018.
What's Next?
The 2021 event went so well that the 2022 one is already set in motion! If you missed out on the action in Las Vegas, don’t worry too much, because you’ll have an opportunity to make up for it in September 2022.
The second-annual Flamingo Fanatics Society Fling is moving to the other side of the country to St. Petersburg, Florida on September 5-9, 2022.
If you are interested in joining the 2022 event, please visit here or email Susan Hyre at ffsociety21@gmail.com to learn more about it.
Make sure to follow the Flamingo Fanatics Society on Instagram and Facebook!
