At Girl Scouts annual Urban Campout, “Fortune Favors the Bold”

Sep 15

What an amazing experience it was to see two short films we produced debut in front of a live audience at the beautiful celebration hosted on the Girl Scouts’ Balboa Park campus. As photojournalists covering the community, we’ve spent a lot of time at galas and fundraisers. There is truly nothing that compares to the Urban Campout experience.

As guests boarded the Old Town Shuttle and rumbled down the hill to Level 3 of the organiztion’s Balboa Park campus, there was already a joyous energy in the air. The event’s theme was Fortune Favors the Bold, and attendees were encouraged to wear costumes that fit the motif.

They didn’t disappoint.

Perhaps the only thing more striking than the costumes was the generosity of spirit in the air. From the event attendees who put their paddles up to help fund Girl Scouts’ mission-critical work to the staff and volunteers who ensured there were enough s’mores and magic to go around, everyone moved in lock-step toward one goal: making sure girls in San Diego County and beyond have a safe place to explore their unique selves and grow to be people of courage, confidence and character.

We were honored to produce the videos that played throughout the event to help communicate this vision and we were heartened to work alongside so many women of courage, confidence and character to bring this work to life.

Thanks, in particular, to Nickie Peña for guiding this project and to Ana Ramirez for joining the Uptown 11 team to cover the event. And many congrats to the fabulous emcee Claire Johnson of San Diego Magazine, who made the experience so memorable for the 400+ folks in attendance.

What a treat to be surrounded by so many talented San Diegans in one space.

As the evening closed, attendees huddled around small campfires and shared stories over s’mores. They shed shoes for a dance party beneath the massive treehouse where so many Girl Scout memories are made. And as they left, they all grabbed a parting gift: a box of cookies of their choice.