Girl Fest 2017

Nearly 800 Girl Scouts and their families spent their Saturday enjoying Girl Fest at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach.

The morning kicked off with a breakfast hosted by GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller for the Girl Scouts who sold at least 100 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to donate to the USO through Gift of Caring, an annual community service project where cookie customers purchase an extra box of cookies to donate to the military, first responders or a local charity. Sixty local Girl Scouts were invited to the breakfast. Paula Moran, president and CEO of the USO of Hampton Roads and Central Virginia, enjoyed breakfast with the Girl Scouts who were able to attend and thanked them for their hard work. She shared how much soldiers enjoy a taste of home when they receive a shipment of Girl Scout Cookies while stationed overseas. This year, local Girl Scouts donated 24,001 boxes of cookies to the USO. Following the breakfast, Girl Scouts took part in a ceremonial cookie donation, as they loaded cases of cookies from a truck into an airplane on display at the Military Aviation Museum.

Maureen Keller, a Chesapeake Girl Scout, was the top seller of Gift of Caring cookies this year, selling 386 boxes to be donated to the USO.

During Girl Fest, Girl Scouts and their families toured the museum’s aircraft collection and learned about the prominent role innovative and risk-taking women have played in the history of aviation. Doris Baker, a docent at the Military Aviation Museum who takes on the role of Rosie the Riveter, shared her own personal story as a Girl Scout troop. In 1955, she started a troop of Girl Scout Brownies in Virginia Beach, and the women who were members of the troop still stay in touch with one another today.

Girl Scouts and their families also had the chance to visit community partner exhibits and take part in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities. They enjoyed launching paper rockets with members of the Civil Air Patrol, sitting in the pilot’s seat and learning about navigation with Epix Aviation, building LEGO creations with BrickHeadz and taking part in science experiments with Mad Science of Hampton Roads.

SaraBeth, a country singer and songwriter from Nashville, performed a lunchtime concert, starting with the national anthem. As she sang, three skydivers from Skydive Suffolk, who are also Girl Scout alumnae, parachuted down over the museum. One of the skydivers, Nicole Condrey, parachuted down with a large American flag attached to her harness. SaraBeth also performed “Girl Scout Cookie Monster,” a hit among her Girl Scout fans.

A huge thank you to the sponsors and media sponsors for Girl Fest: Arconic Foundation, PRA Group, Eagle 97.3 and WAVY-TV 10.

Laura Caso and Deitra Tate with Girl Scouts at Girl Fest.

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast hosts events for Girl Scouts of all ages throughout the year. For more information, visit www.gsccc.org.

View more photos from the day here.