A flock of 50 pink plastic flamingos is making its way around the San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. The birds appear unexpectedly on lawns or in yards and then move on to someone else’s home.
Scotts Valley resident Jackie Mauer is the woman behind the roving band of lawn ornaments. She began “flocking” one home at a time as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society in preparation for the first Relay For Life in Scotts Valley.
“I leave a note that says ‘You’ve been flocked,’” Mauer said. “It’s going off like a wildfire.”
Before the flamingos can be removed from a yard, Mauer asks for a donation to the Relay For Life cause — then, the occupant of the “flocked” home gets to choose the next spot for the pink birds.
Mauer recently sent the birds after her employer, Felton doctor Anthony Tyler.
“After my initial shock, I realized what was going on,” Tyler said of the friendly prank. “She put mine out during the day, but she usually puts them out at night, so she was hiding behind the wall because she wanted to see my reaction.”
Tyler sent the flock on to a friend he plays tennis with in Scotts Valley.
Cancer relay coming this summer
The Relay For Life in Scotts Valley will begin at 10 a.m. July 10 and finishes 24 hours later.
“The idea is that cancer never sleeps, so we’re never going to sleep,” said Jennifer Highland, Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley Relay For Life chairwoman.
The day-and-night-long walk around the Scotts Valley High School track is mirrored by others that take place all over the nation, and it will land in Scotts Valley for valley residents for the first time in July.
There are already relays at Cabrillo College and University of California, Santa Cruz, and in Watsonville, but none focused on residents of the valleys, Highland said.
Teams of between 10 and 15 participants must have at least one team member walking on the track during the entire 24-hour relay.
Highland already has 13 teams and is recruiting more to join. She said teams often have themes and fun activities, music and games incorporated into the day and night.
But perhaps the most powerful moment of the relay comes when it starts — each relay opens with a survivors lap around the track, when cancer survivors from the community are invited to lead.
Another stirring moment is the luminaria ceremony, when those attending light candles tucked inside bags filled with sand, each bag bearing the name of someone who has been touched by cancer.
“Survivors are definitely proof that cancer can be defeated,” Highland said.
At a glance
• WHAT: Relay For Life kickoff
• WHEN: 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 13
• WHERE: Tony & Alba’s, 226 Mount Hermon Road, in Scotts Valley
• INFO: Jennifer Highland, 661-0623 or
sc*******************@ya***.com
; or www.relayforlife.org/scottsvalleyca
