RITTMAN: Luke Bryant, 16, made sure to bring his plastic pink flamingo to the Boy Scouts’ Klondike winter camping weekend.“That’s mine. I found it in the basement at home,” Luke said Saturday morning, nodding toward the flamingo attached to the front his patrol’s homemade sled made from plastic pipe.There’s a reason Luke brought the bird: “Beach Party” is the theme for this weekend’s Chippewa District Klondike, which wraps up today at Rittman’s Martin Fritz Memorial Park in Wayne County.About 250 Scouts from Wayne and Medina counties showed up at the park Friday, pitching tents on or near the snow-covered ball fields. More than 100 adults accompanied them.Luke is with Troop 504 in Medina County’s Litchfield Township, and he hoped the plastic flamingo would help score points for creativity in a sled-judging competition.The Klondike winter camping weekend is a Boy Scout tradition, with districts holding their events on different weekends and in different locales.About 500 Scouts were expected for this weekend’s Klondike at Camp Manatoc and adjoining Camp Butler in Boston Township.At the Klondike in Rittman, patrols practiced their Scouting skills, competing in a host of outdoor events, many with a beach theme. That included a volleyball game; Surf’s Up (Scouts carrying fellow troop members through a course); and Grillin’ on the Beach (Scouts building a fire and then roasting marshmallows to make s’mores).At least one group of Scouts wore hula skirts over their coats, hoping to score points for spirit or creativity.Some Scouts were seen with beach towels draped over their coats. Scout Tommy Lapolla, 12, a member of Troop 520 in Hinckley Township, hoped his patrol scored big in the event where Scouts raised an American flag.“You want to think out of the box,” Tommy said. “The more creative you are, the more points you get — as long as you work as a team.”Tommy and fellow patrol members Nathan Loewenthal, 11, and Brian Supina, 12, said they decided to dig a hole for the flag pole after watching others struggle to keep the pole up with stakes and rope.Nathan pointed out that they came prepared, packing a shovel with their gear.The troop also was prepared by bringing a thermos full of hot chocolate to the various activities.Tom Lapolla, an adult volunteer with Troop 520 and Tommy’s father, said the hot chocolate wasn’t just for the boys.“If they offer hot chocolate to a Scout leader at one of the activities, they may score a point,” he explained.Temperatures were in the teens. Some scouts — and adults — noted they liked the chill and the snow, saying it beats the soggy mud of some earlier Klondikes.Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.