What do RV park flamingos mean?

We’ve all seen them: fluorescent pink, plastic flamingos adorning front yards. Like garden gnomes, they’re a way of making otherwise commonplace homes stand out from the crowd. These familiar decorations have become synonymous with lovers of kitschy knick-knacks, and they’re a frequent presence within American RV parks. But from where do these birds originate, and what do they mean? We wanted to learn more about the place yard flamingos have in our cultural landscape, and we’ve consolidated our research here so that all of you can learn, too. Keep reading to learn the history behind yard flamingos and one surprising theory about what they symbolize. 

The man behind the flamingo

In 1957, American artist Don Featherstone changed front yards forever. By closely observing flamingo photographs published in National Geographic, Featherstone molded the bird in plastic for his job at lawn ornament manufacturer Union Products. His first bird sculpture was of a duck, but that didn’t capture the hearts of America like his flamingos did. Early flamingos even included Featherstone’s signature to differentiate them from knock-offs. When a Sears catalog started selling Featherstone’s birds in twos ($2.76 for a pair), he had no way of knowing that his creation would soon evolve into a phenomenon. 

Pink flamingos, first debuting as a popular middle-class decoration, soon came to symbolize bad taste. In the years following, however, the flamingos became beloved amongst those who wanted to make tongue-in-cheek jabs at the wealthy. By the 1980s, a pink flamingo was an ironic nod to purposeful tackiness. Today, pink flamingos can still be seen in yards all over the country. In fact, they’re especially common in RV parks! Next time you and your family are camping in your RV, try keeping count of the number of plastic birds you spot. Though Don Featherstone sadly passed away in 2015, his legacy lives on in the form of these memorable plastic birds. 

Madison’s mass migration

Pink flamingos are common in American RV parks, but there’s one city where they’re more popular than anywhere else. In Madison, Wisconsin, the state’s capital, plastic flamingos are a pretty big deal. No, really! In fact, in 2009, the city named these bright pink decorations their official “city bird.” This act of lighthearted lunacy can be traced back to 1979 when a harmless prank placed over one thousand plastic flamingos in the yard of The University of Wisconsin’s Bascom Hill. This horde of birds was the catalyst for the community falling in love with Don Featherstone’s famed creation, and the city of Madison still looks fondly back on the prank. 

In fact, the practical joke sparked a tradition that continues today: each year, Madison residents “fill the hill” with pink flamingos in an annual display of community fun. This doubles as a fundraiser event, and donors giving $250 or more receive a plastic flamingo as a thank you. Besides declaring plastic flamingos their city bird, Madison also boasts a well known flamingo mural that visitors flock (no pun intended) to for pictures. 

So, what exactly do pink flamingos mean?

In the RV world, rumors abound about what exactly plastic flamingos represent. Some associate them primarily with the raunchy 1972 comedy Pink Flamingos. For others, these lawn decorations take on a meaning that’s no less racy. Some say that when a pink flamingo sits outside an RV camper, it suggests that its residents engage in an…unorthodox marital practice. There’s no evidence that these innocent flamingos actually have any connection to swinging, and this certainly wasn’t Don Featherstone’s intention, but the idea has persisted regardless. To most, however, pink flamingos still represent nothing more than quirky, flamboyant, fun. So, don’t let this rumor scare you away from buying a silly yard flamingo of your own! 

Want to buy a flamingo (or maybe an RV) of your own?

If you’re in the market for a decoration that’ll liven up your yard, try shopping with Amazon, Walmart, or Dollar Tree for a plastic pink flamingo to call your own. If you’re ready to make a larger purchase, Transwest sells RVs of all shapes and sizes. Visit a Transwest location today so you can start collecting items for your ideal front lawn. As Don Featherstone once said: “An empty lawn is like an empty coffee table; you have to do something with it.”