They say that during an emergency people create bonds, in only a short moment, that last a lifetime. On Christmas Day 1987, The Pink Flamingos (and CE) were born from a fire...

It all began in the late 70s as a non-profit children’s theatre. . .

A small group of people met at a theatre workshop in Vancouver, BC. Infused with a similar spirit of adventure, they rented a studio apartment together and started experimenting with various theatre skills. They eventually connected with the Japanese art form known as Bunraku—a highly disciplined form of puppetry, which utilizes three people to operate a single life-size puppet—and formed a non-profit theatre. The founders included: a med student (Dan Moyer), a graphic artist (Deborah Noble), and an entrepreneur (John de Wolf). From the beginning, they combined hard work mixed with an old world sense of family that after twenty years still holds true. They challenged each other with various art forms and passions and watched as opportunities blossomed. Eventually, a half-sized school bus was purchased and the friends began traveling across North America.
During this time other people came on board including a geophysicist, a writer, a doctor, and a mime—all attracted by the energy and spirit of the group. With the dream of a theatre center in mind, they devoted all of their energy to purchasing land in New Mexico and acquiring materials to build what would become a 7,000+ square foot building that mixed residences with rehearsal, performance and other business spaces. All of this was done by their own hard work. They raised supplies by opening a print shop and bartering with construction companies, and they completed the actual construction themselves.
Questions were asked of the non-profit theatre group/ construction crew over and over as the building was raised: “Who are you people?” “Are you a commune?” “How can you do what you do?”

Leading up to the fire…

By the second year of building, December 1987, the center was 95% complete. A celebration party was planned for Christmas Day. Over forty life-sized puppets, representing years of work, were brought into the main rehearsal room along with a 16-foot Christmas tree. And although the team’s policy had always been to not accept donations, they made an exception and accepted a gift of twelve turkeys for the Christmas dinner.

Strange but True Facts of the fire:

- It started around 4 p.m. Christmas Day and lasted until roughly 11p.m.
- It was caused by a manufacturing fault in a furnace pipe.
- Three cords of wood had been brought in downstairs the day before.
- It lasted through a snowstorm.
- The first fire truck broke down turning onto the road. It blocked the rest of the fire trucks from getting to the fire for well over an hour.
- Nothing was saved.
- No one was hurt.

The team members sat around together, hours later, on a friend’s floor. What to do next? That’s when someone got the crazy notion of a “show-band” mixed with theatre. This is when the team could have sunk into shock and disbelief, but instead they embraced their new path.
How did The Pink Flamingos get their name? It happened after the fire. In Egyptian mythology the Pink Flamingo is akin to the Phoenix rising from the ashes. “Yes,” they agreed, “let’s be a show-band; let’s travel as far as we can go and come back; let’s meet people; let’s live—why else are we here? Pink Flamingos? That would be a great name for whatever happens next.”

And what happened next was a great success. The original act, The Pink Flamingos, grew into a large collection of performers that now entertain audiences, via several diverse acts, all around the world. And CE was re-established, at the request of numerous clients who recognized the talents and uniqueness of the members, to assist Meeting Planners with their Entertainment needs at events.

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How It All Began

Out of the frying pan and into the...