SONGFEST JAMBOREE 2019

Singing and playing music by yourself can be its own reward. Singing with a few Girl Scout friends can triple the effect! Now imagine singing together with 730 fervent, passionate Girl Scout song lovers, just like you! Yeah, that can be a life-affirming moment!  Sponsored by Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada, Songfest Jamboree is returning for a second SOLD OUT year!

Two co-chairs who are both recipients of the honored GSUSA Thanks II Badge, are bringing Songfest Jamboree 2019 to life: Robyn Ratcliffe Manzini is from Girl Scouts of Southern NV, and Collene “Chuck” Anderson is from Girl Scouts of Orange County Council, and they know the feeling of singing with good friends, along with friends they haven’t met yet.  Building on last year’s SOLD-OUT first year, they are putting the final touches on the SOLD-OUT 2^nd annual Songfest Jamboree in Southern California October 4th, 5^th, and 6th!

If you are fortunate to be one of the lucky registered campers this year, you are in for one major unforgettable Girl Scout life-memory event! Besides being the largest Girl Scout singing event in the country in 2019 and the largest gathering of Girl Scouts west of the Appalachians, the Songfest Jamboree 2019 is turning into one of the biggest and brightest Girl Scout musical highlights of the year!

There will be some strong cross-council Girl Scout leadership at this event, too.  Girl Scouts of Orange County’s CEO Vikki Shepp will participate in the opening ceremony and will join the group for the weekend.  Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada’s current board chair Patty Lee, incoming board chair Dick Rizzo, Chief Mission Delivery Officer Yvette Hairston and CFO Jessica Patterson will all be present.  Additionally, Robyn Manzini is not only co-chair for this event, she is also a member of the GSUSA National Board Development Committee Member and will bring good wishes from GSUSA, as well as unique new GSUSA patches. 

Get ready! For the second year in a row, Robyn and Collene are living their dream, a dream to produce a super adventure weekend event centered around Girl Scouts, music, and singing together, creating memories that will last forever in a new generation of girls!

Yes, there will be lots of singing, and there will be lots of other activities that Girl Scouts love for this 3-day event! The Songfest Jamboree 2019 is a combination of high adventure activities, including zipline, rock wall climbing, archery and ropes, dancing, escape rooms, hiking, djembe drumming, even hula, and so much more! The Saturday night Campfire Ashes Ceremony alone is 97 pages long, bringing ashes together from multi-generations and geographies around the world! There will be ashes from a fire lit at Our Cabana on the night Lady Baden Powell died and from a fire lit by Daisy Low herself at Camp Macy in 1926. This ceremony on Saturday night will be a truly deep and beautiful reminder of the vast number of campfires in the many places around the world that Girl Scouts and Girl Guides have been singing together, throughout the decades, bringing them all into the present!

And did I mention there will be song workshops and break-out music sessions along with performances throughout the day with special entire camp sing-alongs in the evening?! The songs run the gamut from tried and true Girl Scouts beloved favorites like “On My Honor” and “Make New Friends”, to classic folk, to full-blown Disney sing-alongs!

Songfest Jamboree 2019 includes 50 experienced musical volunteers (ages 16 to 78) along with 680 attendees, from 13 states and 17 Girl Scout councils. The ages of the guests range from  5-year-old Girl Scout Daisies, to GOLDEN EAGLET and Gold Award Girl Scout, Nancy Webb Craddock, 97 years young. In other words, a true "Girl Scout village"!

The Girl Scout volunteers who will facilitate the workshops at this event come from five states (NV, CA, OH, MS, CT)! Among these volunteers are some of the most recognized song-leaders, songwriters, and guitarists in Girl Scouts today.  These volunteers have performed at GSUSA National Conventions, regional and council-wide events, Girl Scout Camps, Service Unit and local sing-alongs.  Also among the volunteer staff will be Leilani Jones Wilmore, the winner of the coveted Tony Award for her performance on Broadway, Songwriter Anne “Buckeye” Guiltinan from San Francisco, Clare “Smitty” Durand past president of Orienteering USA, and David Hillal, a djembe drummer who has performed for over 11 years.  Their combined knowledge of Girl Scout songs and traditions is encyclopedic and passionate.

Guitarists at this event will include:

Lissa “Flicker” Alfred – GSGLA - California

Collene “Chuck” Anderson – GSOC - California

Lauren “Itchy” Baker – GSOH - Ohio

Vanette “Sgt. Sparky” Christensen – GSSNV – Nevada

Becky “Rabbit” Fish – GSGLA – California

Stacey Grant – GSSGC - California

Anne “Buckeye” Guiltinan – GSSF California

Karen LuCarelli – GSSNV - Nevada

Robyn Manzini – GSSNV - Nevada

Emily “Capo” Monroe – GSGLA – California

Emily “Teddy” Scholthan – GSSF - California

Tricia “Duke” Wedekind – GSOC - California

Sue “Birdie” Wilber – GSCT – Connecticut

Each guest at Songfest Jamboree will receive a copy of the CD “Upon This Land – 50 years of Singing at Girl Scout Camp Scherman”, as well as a 76-page Songfest Jamboree 2019 Songbook. So, the music magic continues onward!

During the course of the 3 days of Songfest Jamboree, over 400 songs will be sung, 100 workshop sessions will be held, and hundreds of Girl Scout badges will be earned and awarded! The activities slated encourage S.T.E.A.M. and many of those attending will earn science, technology, engineering, (music) art, and math badges along with the singing and music training. As Robyn and Collene will tell you, “They come for the badges and high adventure, and they stay for the singing!”

What it took to get here? Well, that's a whole new story – a true labor of Love!

The preparation for this event goes well beyond any regular camp you’ve attended before. Their years of singing experience and Girl Scout camp, organizing and leading, have helped Robyn and Collene to be well prepared for every detail of this 2^nd Annual event. From registration, to arrivals to closing ceremonies, to their list of helpful hints while preparing for the Jamboree, each phase been carefully thought out, planned and timed, but that’s just so they can concentrate on the FUN with everyone else while there!

We hope that the Songfest Jamboree becomes an annual event we can all look forward to attending! And just maybe, Girl Scout Leaders and singing enthusiasts would like to host other regional versions of this grand event, especially knowing they had to turn away 100’s of people at the Songfest Jamboree after registration filled to 730 in 3 short weeks! There were many more who would have loved to be there! Robyn and Collene may well be on to something much needed in Girl Scouts….! More singing-centered events, please!

So much gratitude is going out to Robyn Manzini and Collene Anderson for their mighty Girl Scout vision and production efforts and for keeping the singing flame burning! And of course, our thanks also to all the incredible volunteers supporting their beautiful vision. 

The Songfest Jamboree 2019 is a very important event. It is redefining our music and singing culture in Girl Scouts and has moved us far beyond our mother’s Girl Scout Troop! The big evolutionary picture of our singing traditions is thriving at the Songfest Jamboree 2019!