LEWISTON — At her first Scout-O-Rama in Freeport on Saturday, 8-year-old Shannon Nielsen said she loved being a Cub Scout and that this was her favorite scouting event so far.

She is one of six girls who have joined Lewiston Cub Scout Pack 116 this year, with three more registered to join in the fall.

Scout-O-Rama, hosted by the Pine Tree Council, Scouts BSA, is the largest celebration of scouting in Maine, with an estimated 1,500 Scouts in attendance each year, according to the event’s website.

This was the first year girls were welcome to attend as Cub Scouts. Girls were first allowed to join Cub Scouts in January. In February 2019, girls in all levels of scouting will be allowed to join boys under the new name of Scouts BSA.

Cubmaster Christian Arsenault said Saturday that the pack was happy to get its first female Cub Scouts.

Shannon Nielsen’s mother, Stacie Nielsen, said, “This has been great for (Shannon). She needed to be part of something.”

Stacie Nielsen said her daughter was much more interested in hiking, camping and fishing than in more traditional Girl Scout activities such as crafting.

She said the pack has been welcoming to Shannon and the other girls who’ve joined.

“The boys don’t care that she’s a girl. She’s just another Scout to them,” Stacie said.

Shannon said her favorite part of being a Cub Scout is getting to play.

Pack leaders Will Cozens and Brian Wilson described the day as a “bit of a free-for-all.”

“It’s kind of a way to get more people involved and aware, to open up to scouting,” Cozens said.

Scout-O-Rama offers children a chance to interact with kids in other packs, take part in a parade and learn about summer camping trips, among other things.

One of the booths had underwater robots provided by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, another had a dunk tank, and one had miniature car races.

“It’s just a bunch of fun scouting activities,” Arsenault said.

Arsenault’s youngest daughter, Liza, just joined the pack. “She’s so excited, she already knows the Scout oath by heart,” he said.

He said about 12 packs in Maine started admitting girls in January. Packs have to meet certain criteria to include girls, such as having a female assistant cubmaster and being approved by the pack’s chartered organization.

The program will open up to more girls in 2019, but Arsenault said this has been a good opportunity for other troops and packs to see how the integration works.

Amanda Hughen, Pack 116’s female den leader and assistant cubmaster, said one challenge is that the boys and girls still have to have separate den meetings. Other than finding space for meetings, she said, they haven’t experienced any major hurdles.

“As soon as the BSA said girls could join, we had people interested,” Arsenault said. “The BSA has done a really good job. They really thought this through before rolling it out.

He said the packs were lucky to have experienced leaders to help make a smooth transition.

Arsenault’s older daughter joined the pack this year and is excited to have more exposure to activities such as hiking and camping, he said.

“She also really loves Girl Scouts, so she’ll keep doing that, too,” he said.

As to whether Girl Scouts will admit boys into their troops, Arsenault wasn’t sure.

“It’s one-sided that boys can’t join the Girl Scouts,” he said. “I think it would be nice to be able to do that.” He said he only knows what’s shared in the media. “It’s definitely something that could happen, though.”

Hughen said that with gender roles changing, it would be nice to have that option.

“They’re both really strong programs,” Arsenault said.

Cub Scout Pack 116 will host a Bike Rodeo on Saturday, May 19, at the Promenade Mall in Lewiston. Arsenault said it’s a great opportunity to learn about bike education and to learn about the Scouts.

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