The Ranch at Rock Creek is hands down our favorite property in Montana. We were fortunate to work with them several years ago and we got to experience all the ranch had to offer, like skeet shooting, fly fishing, and horseback riding. The sprawling property is absolutely beautiful and a perfect getaway no matter what the occasion. When Swirl was asked to help rethink their existing children’s program, the Little Grizzlies Kids Club, we jumped at the opportunity and had plenty of ideas.
First off, there are no grizzlies around the ranch (good news if you’re scared of bears!) so a new name was in order. This is Flint and he’s a very good boy and just so happens to be the ranch dog. Flint’s Forest Rangers began to take shape.
Launched over Easter Weekend 2022, each child received an adventure bag filled with fun goodies. An adorable hat with a Flint patch, water bottle, Flint m&m’s and postcards, trading cards featuring the stunning ranch horses, custom paw and bone-shaped rainbow crayons, and a ranch passport. Inside the passport are games, puzzles, pages to keep track of favorite activities and spots to collect stamps which can be redeemed for a ranch pin that looks great attached to the hat. Moving forward, these bags will be awaiting the youngest guests in their accommodations upon check in.
Our goal was to visualize and create a program with a relevant and cohesive theme. Bringing in Flint as the mascot allowed us to showcase a beautiful pup that guests will see constantly around the property, use dog and dog related items that kids can easily recognize in the branding, and utilize the existing activities, tweaking them to fit the theme.
LAUNCH WEEKEND
Over the 2022 Easter weekend, the Flint’s Forest Rangers program was officially launched at The Ranch at Rock Creek with much fanfare! The hotel staff were excited about the rebrand and we were able to easily incorporate Swirl activities into their already-planned Easter programming, making the launch seamless.
The launch weekend began Thursday afternoon with a running of the horses, where the little rangers got to watch the majestic animals run past, giving them a taste of ranch life.
Friday morning, children were invited to make bird feeders with pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed all while learning about birds native to Montana and the life cycle of a pinecone. Later that day, we hosted a ‘Paint & Sip’ where, guided by an artist, the little ones painted wooden eggs and wood slices that were then looped with twine as an ornament while drinking hot chocolate.
Saturday morning was the big reveal; kids and their parents were invited to a ‘Spring Greening’ event and launch celebration. There, children were given their adventure bags and together helped plant 150 willow tree saplings in an effort to help the environment. Flint was there living his best life finding rocks while staff helped dig the holes that kids then filled with saplings and watered.
Saturday afternoon there was Easter egg dying and cookie decorating in the Saloon and fun was had by kids and parents alike.
Easter Sunday the ranch put on an ‘Egg-stravaganza’ which included egg relay racing and an Easter egg hunt where children found eggs filled with candy and temporary tattoos featuring none other than Flint! A treasure hunt and wagon ride followed, capping off a wonderful weekend at the ranch.
Launching Flint’s Forest Rangers at The Ranch at Rock Creek was a true labor of love, something we’d been working on for over two years. To see the program come to fruition and see the kids who participated enjoying themselves and the programming we developed, was truly amazing.
