The Buffalo Olmsted Conservancy has broken the record for the longest line of pink flamingo lawn ornaments. Olmsted staff, volunteers, and supporters spent the better part of the morning staking the bright pink birds into the lawn at Bidwell Parkway. An adjudicator from Guinness World Records was on hand to ensure that all of the birds were touching, and that the total number of flamingos in the flamboyance tallied 1500.
The record was set as a tribute to 150 years of Frederick Law Olmsted (FLO) in Buffalo. As happenstance would have it, the length of the giant conga line of birds turned out to be 2018 feet, coinciding the year that the record was broken. Another 1500 flamingo lawn ornaments have been placed throughout the Olmsted park system.
Throughout the day, supporters of the Olmsted parks, and lovers of kitschy pink flamingo lawn ornaments, are adopting the birds, which are being called “FLOmingos” in honor of Olmsted. People have until 7pm to purchase their record winning trophy.
- $10 for 1
- $15 for 2
- Buy a $35 membership for Olmsted Parks and get 2 free!
It turns out that the FLOmingos also serve another role. They are being used as a marketing tool to remind people to keep the parks clean, recycle, and not to litter.
“At the Conservancy we understand that landscape architecture is a specialized profession, but we also feel that Olmsted would have understood the humor in stunt of placing 3,000 #FLOmingos across his beautiful landscapes to become a Guinness World Record holder,” said Stephanie Crockatt, executive director of the Conservancy. “Additionally, we are using the kitschy lawn art to raise awareness for recycling.”
For more information and a map on where an additional 1,500 “flomingos” can be found around the 850-acre park system visit BFLOParks.org/event/flomingos.