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The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls in California

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Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Hawaii

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By: TaylorAnn Q., Grand Fidelity and Representative to AK/HI

Hawaii Rainbow really knows how to welcome their guests! I had the amazing opportunity to attend a meeting in Hawaii and learn a lot about their jurisdiction. I was welcomed by Honolulu Assembly No. 1, where I got to meet the Supreme Deputy, Grand Worthy Advisor, and a few Assembly girls. Their leis are so beautiful and I learned that the Supreme Deputy makes them special for each and every girl that receives one. They are traditionally for their Past Worthy Advisors once they earn that title, but they also give them to Representatives to Hawaii who come to visit. In Hawaii, they have lots of fun with their events and work really well with the other Fraternal orders. During the meeting, the girls and adults of the Assembly suggested that my family and I visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. We had an absolute blast learning about the culture of the several islands and even got to participate in some fun island activities, like weaving fish out of leaves. It rained every day on our trip but that did not stop us! We went snorkeling three times, went to the eternal flame, attended the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, attended a luau, and so much more. They are even planning on sending three girls out to our Grand Assembly, how cool is that? The girls and adults of Hawaii Rainbow made my trip so memorable and I hope to go back soon!

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – New Hampshire

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By: Christian W., Member of the GEC, Rainbow Flag Bearer and Representative to CAN/NH/VT

Hi California Rainbow! It’s Christian, your GEC, Rainbow Flag Bearer and Representative to Canada, New Hampshire, and Vermont! When I started this year I did not think I would have the chance to go to any of my Jurisdictions. So when I had the opportunity to attend New Hampshire’s Grand Assembly, I was ecstatic, not only because I had the chance to visit one of my Jurisdictions, but because it would be my first on the East Coast and flying!

With a total of four flights, my mom and I were in New Hampshire. Once we got to the hotel, we met the now Junior Past Grand Worthy Advisor as she was on a scavenger hunt that led to where she got her quilt. We also saw their Grand Assembly room. Unlike California Grand Assembly they had their Grand Assembly all in the same hotel. The first day of sessions was similar to sessions in California. They have marches called drills that are like our informal opening, however, all of the Assemblies can make a drill and perform it at their Grand Assembly and that is what they have as their grand talent.

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Indiana

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By: Amanda M., Grand Love and Representative to IN/KY

Hi, I am Amanda M.! This summer I traveled to Indiana for their Grand Assembly and it was amazing. Their theme was “Under The Sea”, it was beautiful.

One of the biggest differences I noticed was that the Representatives, and some selected members, got to vote on who is going to be in the Grand Line. They also do this magnificent curtsy when they escort guests instead of bowing and let’s just say I was a little confused about what to do for escort.

They sure know how to have fun at their Sunday night party! We swam in the pool and I saw my first firefly. I tried to catch it but it didn’t really work out. We also visited where the Indy Derby is held, it was so amazing to see it in person!

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Oklahoma/Texas

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By: Rebecka S., Grand Outer Observer and Representative to OK/TX

Hi California Rainbow! It’s Rebecka, your Grand Outer Observer and Representative to Oklahoma and Texas! This past summer I have had the honor of being able to travel to both Oklahoma and Texas. I had so much fun and I learned a couple of amazing things while I was there. While I was not able to attend Oklahoma’s Grand Assembly this year, I was able to travel to McAlester, Oklahoma to visit the Supreme Temple.

The temple itself is absolutely amazing, and walking through it was like being able to walk through Rainbow history. All of the furniture, paraphernalia, and even kitchenware are donated by Rainbow Assemblies around the world. There is even an entire room where everything is pink!  There are Assemblies from all over the United States that will come and visit the Supreme Temple, and sometimes they might even hold a meeting using the Assembly Room there. In the east of the Assembly Room, are over 50 flags representing all of the jurisdictions of Rainbow. I also had the honor of being able to see the Supreme Worthy Advisor’s office and was even able to sit in her chair. And let me tell you that is one comfy chair.

After visiting McAlester, Oklahoma I was able to visit Waco, Texas where Texas Rainbow holds their Grand Assembly. I had no idea how different other Jurisdictions could be from California until I visited Texas. In Texas, all of the girls, including the Grand Officers wear white dresses. And, they were straight dresses with their hair down instead of in a hoop and hairpiece.  I don’t know about you but I could never keep my dress so white. Another thing that I thought was awesome was that in Texas, for their marches, instead of floating and gliding as we do in California, they do this really upbeat and bouncy type of march. It was really hard for me to not clap along with the music. 

In Texas Rainbow instead of their appointments being crazy and wild like in California, they do it in almost complete silence. The girls are called to the stage and then handed an envelope containing the information of what their next office will be. After which they have to– as calmly as possible– walk to their station and stand behind it. I don’t know about you but I would be bursting at the seams if we had to do that in California. In Texas, I was also given the honor to participate in their cavalcade of flags with Skilee, the past Representative of California, and Cadence D. from Nevada. 

I had so much fun in Texas and of course, I could not leave without having some of their delicious barbeque, so, we made sure to stop at a local smokehouse and had some of the best barbeque ever. I honestly wish I did not have to leave Texas so soon and cannot wait to be able to go back one day.

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Australia

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By: Caitlyn D., Grand Faith and Representative to Australia and the Orient Pacific

In January I had the privilege of going to Australia to meet the girls of New South Wales/ South Australia, and Queensland Jurisdictions. I first met the girls when we planted trees at a local park with the help of their newly instituted DeMolay chapter. Afterward, I took a ferry trip around Sydney Harbour with some of the girls and let me tell you it was very hot as it’s their summer. The girls put on an Open Meeting where each station I went to was a new fact about Australia’s history and culture. 

Although there were many fires affecting their wildlife, all the Rainbow Girls are safe and away from them. The day after the Open Meeting, I went to the Torango zoo with Friendship-Dilkara Assembly. I photographed many koalas and got to introduce the girls to Capybaras for the first time. I even attempted the Zoo’s ropes course but had to stop because it started raining. And of course, I didn’t leave before taking pictures with the Lemurs.

Talese, a Past Grand Worthy Advisor from Australia, took me around to see many sights. We went shopping and to local markets, went on a dinner cruise around the harbor, and looked for crazy and interesting food and candy to try. Fun fact: my hotel window had a direct view of the Sydney Opera House.

It was really hard to say goodbye because I made some amazing memories and even better friends. I learned about a new culture through the people and the experience. I hope I get the opportunity to visit the girls again.

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Philippines

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By Caitlyn D., Grand Faith and Representative to Australia and the Orient Pacific

In the first week of June 2019, I had the privilege of traveling with the Supreme Worthy Advisor, Mrs. Jacka, and other Grand Delegates from other Jurisdictions, to the Philippines for their Grand Assembly. When we arrived we were met by members of Perla Assembly #1, the host of that year’s Grand Assembly. Their theme was “Rainbow takes on the World Upward and Onward in Love and Service”.

On the first day, we toured the Grand Masters building in Manila, Philippines where their Grand sessions would be held. I even got to meet the Grand Master and talk with him in his office! Afterward all of the out-of-state delegates and I went to help the Rainbow Grand Officers of the Philippines with their service project where we got to play games, dance and have lunch with local kids. Before they left we distributed bags with toiletries and games for each kid.

Grand sessions were so much fun to watch and observe our similarities and differences. I always got asked about how I did my hair up so nice – of course, I told them it was a hairpiece – and how I floated in my hoop dress. There were so many girls in attendance, and I had a lot of fun passing out my swappies and talking with each assembly as I went around the room. Not only did I get to watch talent, but I also got to be one of the performers. All of the out of state girls and I lip sung and danced to “We’re All in this Together” from High School Musical. One of my favorite parts of Grand Assembly was being one of the assembly scrapbook contest judges.

After Grand Assembly ended I got to have fun and travel with some of the members from Perla Assembly. We went to this HUGE hot pink house that is now a museum. It was very humid in the Philippines, so it was nice when we went to eat lunch by a waterfall. We had to take our shoes off because our feet and lunch tables were in the water. Carolyn, Nevada’s current GWAA, and I bamboo rafted in the river and we probably should have listened to Mom Kim, the Junior Past Grand Mother Advisor of the Philippines, when she said to put more sunscreen on.

I tried so many new Filipino foods while with my Rainbow sisters. One of my favorite foods now is lumpia. We even went to one of the girls’ family farm where I got fresh coconut and the sweetest mangos you would ever taste. I got to feed her family’s pigs and even ride a Carabao. One day while we were touring local areas we met one of the mayors of a city who is a Mason, and I took a tricycle to his office. This isn’t a regular tricycle though. It’s a motorcycle taxi with a sidecar for two. I was on the same tricycle as Mrs. Jacka. The last thing I did with them was going to the biggest mall in the Philippines to get some souvenirs. 

Saying goodbye was hard. My Rainbow family grew internationally, and it’s always difficult to leave family. Perla Assembly showed me so much about the Filipino culture and history. This trip will forever be bookmarked in my memories. I miss them all so much. They are now a part of my life and I hope to see them again.

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Washington/Idaho

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By Briana S., Grand Charity and Representative to WA/ID

Hello California Rainbow! It’s Brianna, your Representative to the jurisdiction of Washington/Idaho and I’m here to share with you my journey to the 2019 “Adventure Awaits on top of the Mountains and beneath the Stars” Grand Assembly in Yakima, Washington.

To start off, my Assembly and I had an amazing road trip from Concord, CA to Yakima’s SunDome. It took us 2 days to get there with 14 hours of driving, talk about being cramped in a car with 3 girls in the back seat. When we finally arrived, we headed straight to their first session and got to see the Courageous Cubs walk in with their stunning pink dresses. The atmosphere was incredible with the amount of cheering and enthusiasm from all the assemblies. Later that night, they had their version of our Saturday Night Party and that was filled with awesome music and crazy dance moves from so many Rainbow Girls, I’m pretty sure I almost lost my voice from all the singing.

The next day, they held their election process for their new Grand Line! Each candidate spent 5 minutes with a group of Past Worthy Advisors discussing their future for Washington/Idaho Rainbow and wow! there were some amazing questions being asked along with incredible answers. Their elections were held during their next session and that’s when the new Grand Line was announced and later that night the appointments for the rest of the Grand Officer and Jurisdictional Representatives were announced.

Lastly, the day of their Grand Installation came around and we got to see all of the amazing new Grand Officers in their beautiful dresses. After the Installation, everyone heads to this restaurant called Miners where they serve mostly burgers and shakes and I had a great time getting to know so many new people. Fun fact, all the California Grand Officers got temporary tattoos with the Avengers on them!

The drive home was brutal but well worth it because of the endless memories made. Thank you to everyone who traveled with me on this amazing trip. For everyone who missed it, I hope to see you there next year with the “Let the Good Times Roll” Fifties theme and hopefully you’ll make just as many memories as I did!

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Kentucky

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By Amanda M., Grand Love and Representative to IN/KY

Hi, I am Amanda M.! This summer I traveled to Kentucky and it was awesome. Their theme was “Kentucky Strong,” and they sure were strong!

One of their big service projects was adopting animals from the local zoo where each animal cost thirty-five dollars. I thought it was a pretty great service project. They raised around 5,000 dollars from that service project.

They were so nice and welcoming and they told us we should go check out where they hold the Kentucky Derby. It was a beautiful place and I had so much fun learning about the history of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Rainbow. They had such deep southern accents that I almost came home with one!

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Kansas

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By: Amber H., Grand Confidential Observer and Representative to KS/NB

The second of my out-of-state travels this summer was to Wichita Kansas to see Kansas Rainbow’s Grand Assembly with my Mother Advisor (and Grandie) Mrs. Mulinyawe, Hazel, and Rhiannon. This trip was a lot different than my trip to Nebraska because there were more people that I knew that came with me and we were all able to talk about the similarities and differences between Kansas and California Rainbow.  In Kansas, their Grand Assembly is a day and a half long. Each session is filled with wonderful floor and memory work and it was awesome getting to hear about some of the things that they do there. The first session of Kansas’ Grand Assembly was actually an evening session on Friday night. After we all had dinner together and met with a few of the girls from Kansas Rainbow, we attended their first session. During the session, we got to hear about the Kansas Grand Service project which was ICT-SOS.

Saturday was a full day with sessions and a fun night. During opening sessions, we learned that they do walk in a lot differently because they sing a song during walk-in and say the American Creed. During the afternoon session, they would normally hold elections to determine who the next Grand Worthy Associate Advisor would be. Whoever is elected Grand Worthy Associate Advisor moves up to Grand Worthy Advisor. This year, however, only one girl was in the running and no elections were held.  After this session and prior to leaving for Kansas’ fun event, they announced who the Grand Officers and Grand Representatives were for 2020. 

This year, their fun event was a couple of hours at a trampoline park. We got to ride on a school bus to the fun event where we sang, “Wheels on the Bus” and got to talk more with some of the girls. When we got there we first went on the trampolines for a bit and later moved on to play some games with some of the girls. Hazel and I played sand volleyball with a couple of the girls we met earlier and we got to know each other a bit better while playing. 

Sadly, that was the last day we had with the Kansas Rainbow girls. It was a lot of fun getting to talk and meet with the girls at dinner, in between sessions, and in the lobby before bed. While that was all we had done with Rainbow there, Mrs. Mulinyawe, Hazel, Rhiannon, and I did do a bit more sight-seeing. We visited the Chicken and Pickle, the Wizard of Oz Museum, the Yellow Brick Road (yes it really exists … beware of the flying monkeys), the Keeper of the Plains, and the Flint Hills. But some of my favorite things about this whole trip was getting to meet the Rainbow Girls of Kansas, talking with them, seeing the similarities and differences between our states, and spending time with the awesome people that I traveled with.

Getting to visit was an awesome experience where I learned a lot about how things can be different and the same between states and through all my travels this summer, wherever you go, if you find a Rainbow Girl they’ll be some of the easiest and kindest people to talk to.

By: Rhiannon C., GEC, Grand Color Bearer and Representative to CO/NV

In late June, my a’door’able Grandi, Amber and I got to take a fantastic trip to Wichita, Kansas for their “Take Flight With Kansas Rainbow” Grand Sessions. We were welcomed with gifts and smiles, and everyone we met was so friendly! After the closing session of Grand Assembly, we all took a school bus to a Trampoline Park and bounced the night away. We not only had a blast attending their Grand Sessions, but we also got to sightsee in other parts of Kansas. One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting the Wizard of Oz Museum in the small town of Wamego, Kansas! Well, California, sadly we are not in Kansas anymore. But it was sure fun while we were!

Grand Representative Travel Blogs – Nebraska

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By: Amber H., Grand Confidential Observer and Representative to KS/NB

Hey California Rainbow!

I was so excited for my first opportunity to travel out of state this year and on June 6th, my dad and I got on a plane to go see Nebraska’s Grand Assembly. Their Grand Assembly was two days long with a Fun Night the day before sessions. When we arrived at Doane University we got there just in time to have lunch with their Representatives. Afterward, they let me attend their practice and I got to talk with some of the girls while they waited for their parts. 

Later we got to go to their Fun Night. Nebraska’s Fun Night started off with a dinner for everyone attending and it was like a giant reunion because all of the Assemblies are so close with each other. After dinner, we watched skits done by their Representatives, all about their states; their Deputies, about all the components in a Candy Store; and a presentation from Eastern Star about their international service dog project. Then rewards were handed out to every girl that brought in a new member. These awards let them be first in line at dinner the following night! Afterward, we went to an ice cream social and a water fight. Before the water fight started, they poured a bucket of water on their Grand Worthy Advisor, Morgan C.; Michigan’s Grand Worthy Advisor, and on me!

Saturday started with a Grand Cross of Color ceremony and breakfast for those who had one or a fun activity for those who didn’t. Then it was the start of sessions. Their sessions are similar to ours, though they have fewer dance breaks. In between the afternoon and evening sessions, there was a banquet for all the attendees where we all got to hang out and have an awesome meal. Their ritual competition and team awards were announced during the dinner. 

During evening sessions, there was an initiation and majority service. Afterward, they had their cavalcade of rainbow-colored flags and their State Rainbow Beau helped by carrying one of the violet flags.

After sessions on Saturday night, each Assembly had unofficial pizza parties. I mainly hung out with Benson-Diana Assembly, where I got to meet the new Representative to California. They also initiated me into their Assembly.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend the last sessions on Sunday because that was when we had to leave for our flight. Before we left, however, I got to have breakfast with some of the friends I had made before their session and our flight.

Overall, it was an amazing trip and I loved being able to meet and talk with the girls of Nebraska Rainbow!