The Scouting America Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council held its annual Scout-o-Rama on May 9 at History Park in San Jose. The event featured over a hundred troops staffing activities booths from the Santa Clara, Monterey Bay, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties with a turnout of over 5,000 people. Other amenities included a toy train display by the Golden State Toy Train Operators, musical performances from School of Rock Palo Alto and a car derby for all ages and experience levels of participants.
Member of the Executive Board of the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council Bobby Toda has attended Scout-o-Ramas since he was a child. Though his were originally in Oregon, he has positive experiences with the Bay Area’s Scout-o-Rama and notes the event’s wide reach. According to Toda, the Silicon Valley Scout-o-Rama is the largest on the West Coast, despite there being larger cities in the area. Toda spent years attending Scout-o-Rama with his own children, who were involved in scouting.
“The event’s a great way for everybody to come together and see what else we’re doing, but it’s a great way for people in the general public to see what scouting is about,” Toda said. “Some were scouts many, many years ago, and there have been a lot of changes, like girls joining one age group.”
Tenderfoot Scouts Emily Leon and Julia Lewis agree with Toda’s sentiment about the community aspect of Scout-o-Rama. Leon and Lewis are both part of Troop 260, based out of Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in San Jose. After attending Scout-o-Rama for years with her siblings, Leon has established a personal connection through her favorite memories.
“So there’s this eagle, like an inflatable mascot, and he’s really cute,” Leon said. “He walks by, and if you catch him at the right time or if you ask them, you could be in the eagle next. And so I got to walk around in the mascot, and you get a secret badge for it.”
Some of Lewis’s favorite memories include joining her brothers when they were scouts and setting off water rockets with them. She’s been coming to Scout-o-Rama for five years now. As a scout herself, she emphasizes the importance of bringing together individual troops across the Bay Area.
“I think this is a big event that can bring all the scouts together and come as one,” Lewis said. “I think a lot of times we forget, because of our separate troops, that we all are one big community. I think coming together lets scouts communicate and enjoy stuff through other troops and connect on the same wavelength.”
