Pink Flamingo Bar
Rating: +0
The fabulous Pink Flamingo Bar will Glow Pink Allnite and serve cocktails within certain hours to certain people over 18 with certain photo ID and certain manners and clean and tidy presentation. It's where particular people congregate.
We advocate the responsible consumption of alcohol at all times at Meredith. If you are under 18, you won't be able to drink alcohol, or enter any licensed areas. Simple as that.
This year The Flamingo has a ban on gratuitous use of the word "man", a distrust of anyone wearing rayon and bar staff have license to display outward contempt for any signs of social sycophancy. As usual costumes with elaborate headwear or militaria are celebrated, as is anyone arriving via motor launch or punt.
The Pink Flamingo is essentially a cocktail bar. It sells two cocktails - the Pink Flamingo (vodka, pink grapefruit, some other stuff) and the Bloody Meredith (popular on Sunday - vodka, tomato juice, celery, two eggs, roast chicken, two coffees and some lemon meringue pie). The Pink Flamingo is for over 18's only.
Regular Meredithians will perhaps not be suprised to learn that The Flamingo has changed hands yet again. It's a bit of a white elephant really! There's always some new wood-duck ready to blow their severance pay from Telstra on a 'cool' bar. (“no, but I've had a lot of experience on the other side of them...HAHAHAHAH”) Two years ago the main bar staff formed a co-operative and bought the leasehold, and the freehold. There were incredible stories of the whole team banding together and working nights and weekends to bring The Old Dame back to her former glory, stripping away years of bad renovations, and restoring superb architectural features like the parquetry dance floor, wrought iron circular staircase, and the marble portico. This idyllic, socialist working environment continued for weeks until a few minor squabbles about Brenda Ferguson's 'sore' leg escalated into yelling and slammed doors and dinners going cold and then it all turned to shit.
Last year the Flamingo was bought by Gisborne-based model train enthusiast Troy Chaplin. At the eleventh hour a falling-out with the electricians ("yes you can have three phase up here but there better not be anything that makes a choo choo noise buzzing past my head saturday night") lead to the poorest decor seen in years up there. Poor Troy! Had no idea really.
This year six former major-label record executives have grand designs on the bar. The masterplan is to start at Meredith to 'create a buzz' then hopefully the bar will 'go viral' then eventually they'll franchise The Pink Flamingo right around the planet with the eventual goal to set up a boutique casino version in Macau, replete with dancing girls (un)dressed as Flamingoes and pink champagne fountains and perhaps holograms of The Rat Pack pretending to chat up the women at the bar. Good luck boys.
The Pink Flamingo's location is at the back of the amphitheatre, just next to the International Food Court, on the fringe of the Top Paddock. You can see the stage easily from the front garden of the Pink Flamingo.
Here's the history of The Pink Flamingo:
1998 first opened as The Pink Flamingo Yacht Club Bar, with hosts Commodore Bahamas Lite and Commodore Pink Jazz.
1999 The Pink Flamingo Ski Lodge, with hosts Heidi and Klaus, included their famous Alpine Friendliness TM.
2000 The Pink Flamingo RSL, with bingo and bowls, and a Meredith Gift Honour Board. Run by committee.
2001 The Pink Flamingo Speakeasy and Cinema. Some of the films really messed with some of the patrons minds.
2002 The Pink Flamingo Bar. Shady, quiet and comfortable. And pink.
2003 The Pink Flamingo Bar. Provincial quail nursery and Swedish tennis fan face painting station.
2004 The Pink Flamingo Bar and Health-giving Mud Baths. Got a bit muddy.
2005 The Pink Flamingo Bar and Grill. Sunny skies, flippin' burgers.
2006 Giant illuminated Flamingo erected at entrance. Old Flamingo decor retired. Flamingo Workers Collective installed as new owners. A Saturday Night fever party for the Saturday Night and a one-dayer on the telly Friday Night to bring in the punters. The PubTab re-opened.
2007 Workers Collective falls apart when after arguments about Brenda Ferguson's “sore” leg. However much restoration was achieved, and the Flamingo was almost listed asa World Heritage Site.
2008 Gisborne-based model train enthusiast Troy Chaplin completes takeover. Secret plans to run miniature tracks around the walls cause falling-out with local tradesmen on the eve of the festival and Troy hasn't been sighted since.
