Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary Lansing Sing-along

Open to Current and Former Girl Scouts, Friends and Family Girl Scouts Kick Off Centennial in Lansing March 10 A celebration of Girl Scouting -- 100 years in the making --will take place March 10 when thousands of girls, adult volunteers and Girl Scout alumnae from across the state gather at the Capitol Building in Lansing. Festivities include a sing-along and parade following a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open “Follow the Girls: 100 Years of Girl Scouting,” an historical exhibit at the Michigan Historical Center at 7200 Kalamazoo Street. The day’s festivities will end with fireworks (weather permitting ) at Cooley Stadium, home of the Lugnuts. The daylong celebration, part of a yearlong observance of the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts, is being hosted by Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, which serves 22,000 girls in 34 counties in southwest, central and southeast lower Michigan. Jan Barker, Chief Executive Officer of GSHOM, said Lansing was selected to host the first of the council’s five centennial events because of its historical significance. “We are inviting all Girl Scouts from all over Michigan, their family members and, especially, former Girl Scouts to celebrate with us at our state capital,” said Barker. Barker will join with state dignitaries at 9 a.m. to officially open a 2,000-square-foot exhibit of Girl Scout memorabilia at the Historical Center. At 10 a.m., Girl Scout troops will line up for the 100th anniversary parade, which will kick off at 11 a.m. At noon, the celebrants will meet on the Capitol lawn for the official welcome and the sing-along. From 1 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. participants will visit the Michigan Historical Center, the Michigan Women’s Center, Impressions 5 Children’s Science Museum, the Turner-Dodge House and activities in Old Towne. Festivities will wrap up with fireworks at 7 p.m. Three levels of participation are available. The all-inclusive package ($20) includes all of the day’s activities and transportation, walking in the parade and a t-shirt and patch. The sing-along package ($15)includes all of the day’s activities and transportation and participation in the sing-along. The parade package ($12) includes walking in the parade, participation in the sing-along, a t-shirt and patch. Bus transportation is available from various cities for an additional $15 fee. Individual girls must be accompanied by an adult. Children under 3 years old are free. To register online, visit www.gshom.org and click on the “Lansing Sing-along” tab. Registration deadline is February 24. Walk-ins are welcome to view the parade and sing-along but must purchase the sing-along package ($15) for access to the afternoon activities and transportation. Look for the Girl Scout tent on the Capitol Building Lawn. Juliette Gordon Low started the first Girl Scout troop in Savannah, Georgia, on March 12, 1912, with these famous words : “I have something for the girls of Savannah, and all of Georgia, and all of America, and we are going to start it tonight.” Since that first gathering of 18 girls, Girl Scouting has spread across the country and around the world, becoming the world’s premier leadership development organization for girls. Currently, there are 3.1 million Girl Scouts in the United States. More than 50 million American women are Girl Scout alumnae. Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan has regional service centers in Lansing, Kalamazoo, Jackson, Marshall, Ann Arbor and Saginaw. The Lansing Sing-along is the first of five signature (Fab Five) events that will mark the Girl Scout centennial over the next 18 months in Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan. Next up is the Kalamazoo Girl Scout Invasion, set for June 1-3, 2012, at Western Michigan University and sites in and around Kalamazoo. Other Fab Five centennial events include: the Super-sized Jamboree and Pow Wow at the Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, September 7-9, 2012; the Juliette Low Birthday Party in Midland, October 20, 2012; and Bridging to the Next Century, set for March of 2013, in Ann Arbor. For more information about any of the events or to join Girl Scouts or become a Girl Scout volunteer, visit www. gshom.org or call 1-800-497-2688 (1-800-49-SCOUT).