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Celebrating Alaskas Flag
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Simple, yet meaningful. Photo by wkclpart.com
The official Alaska Flag Day Celebration will be held Thursday, July 9, from 5:30 to 8:30 at Alaska Children's Services. ACS is located at 4600 Abbot Road. For more information, visit www.akchild.org, or call 907-346-2101.
Flags are a symbolic. They represent who we are, and what we stand for. They mean something. They have been burned in protest, and hoisted in triumph. Our National Anthem is about a flag. Even the Alaska flag has its own song. But have you ever wondered where the Alaska flag got its simple blue and gold design?
In 1927, a contest was held for children grades 7-12 to design a flag which would represent what was then Alaska Territory. The design of thirteen year old Benny Benson, an Alaska Native boy who resided at the Jesse Lee Children's home in Seward, was selected as the winner out of over 700 submissions. His prize was $1000 and an engraved watch. The design was formally adopted as the official flag by the Alaska Legislature on May 2, 1927. It was flown for the first time on July 9, 1927. It was decided that it would remain the state flag upon statehood in 1959.
Today, what was then the Jesse Lee Children's Home, the orphanage where Benson created his famous design, is now Alaska Children's Services. Set on a beautiful campus, it is complete with residential cabins for psychiatric treatment, as well as the Benny Benson Recreational Center. It is supported in part by a number of local ministries, and has become the heart of family organizations and agencies in Alaska.
Each year on July 9, ACS hosts the Alaska Flag Celebration at their campus located at 4600 Abbot Road. It is a great family event, with live music, BBQ, and more. Parking is available at Service High School, and shuttles will be on hand for transportation to ACS. Admission is $20 per family, or $5 per person, and featured acts include live music by Melissa Mitchell and face painting by Marky D Clown. There is sure to be something for everyone.
I was fortunate enough to attend this event a few years ago with my children as a guest of a dear friend of mine, Sue Cole, who served on the board of directors for ACS for a number of years.She passed away in May 2008. She was one of those people who always had just the right thing to say to make you feel better about absolutely anything, and she made you want to be a better person. She loved this event, and she loved ACS. I hope I honored her a bit with this writing.
So if you find yourself with those weekend-after-July 4th blues, why not head over to ACS and have a little fun, support a great cause, and catch up on a little Alaskan history. You never know, you just might learn something!
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