Middle school's flamingos invade Calhan

CALHAN • What the flock!?

Funky flamingos are taking over lawns in this bucolic ranching town on the eastern plains.

In the pink crush are pirate, clown, baseball, hippie and jail birds. One looks strangely like Alice Cooper.

The clan of 35 costumed birds is a fundraiser for a Calhan middle-school team heading to Tennessee for the world finals of Destination ImagiNation, a creativity and problem-solving competition.

The Calhan team needs about $5,000 more for the trip, and has three weeks to get it.

Forget car washes and candy bars. This is, after all, a think-out-of-the box mental sport.

The flocking of flamingos to fund-raise isn’t unique to Calhan. Other teams in the Pikes Peak region and nationwide also use the leggy birds to pay for the top Destination ImagiNation tourney.

Students flock a yard for a donation, moving the birds after dark to surprise the target. Some people pay to flock themselves.

The flamboyant flamingos took to the streets Saturday on a float in Calhan’s Loyalty Day parade put on by the VFW to promote patriotism.

One bird wore camouflage, though not exactly the U.S. Army variety.

“The costumes are made from duct tape,” said Zayna Pieper, 12.

She and her three teammates made the outfits to give color to the flamingos. And so the birds wouldn’t have to prance around naked.

The team qualified in a recent Denver competition for the May 26-29 world finals.

Zayna was on the Calhan elementary team that competed in the world meet last year. The extracurricular activity opens a big world to the small-town students.

“Some had never been on an airplane,” said Zayna’s mom, Debbie. “Some had never been out of Colorado.”

For Zayna, it does more than bend her mind.

“You have a challenge and then you have this great feeling of overcoming the challenge,” she said. “It gives you that sense of pride.” 

The Calhan flamingos are available until May 24. Call 719-347-2516 to flock it to your friends.

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For more about the organization: idodi.org
For more about Colorado’s Destination ImagiNation: www.extremecreativity.org

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Contact the writer at 636-0253.