Grand Old Flag

Flag Day represents a day of honor and respect. Not only for the people who serve the flag, but also the flag itself and what it represents.

Indian Rocks is holding their annual today at noon at Chic-A-Si Park.

The ceremony properly disposes of flags in a respectful and honorable way. The ceremony will be disposing of multiple flags used around Indian Rocks Beach in manner dictated by the flag policy put out by the General Service Administration, said Dean Scharmen, the public services director of Indian Rocks Beach.

According to the GSA, a flag that is too worn or dirty to serve as a symbol of America should be disposed by burning it in an honorable manner.

The ceremony, which started ten years ago, started when a resident of Indian Rocks Beach got with the mayor and requested an event to properly memorialize the retiring of the U.S. flag, Scharmen said. Since then, the event has grown in popularity every year.

This year’s event includes music from the Class Act Band performing classic patriotic songs like “America the Beautiful” and popular military themed songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

The event will also be holding showcasing the official military flag folding ceremony from the MacDill Air Force Base, Scharmen said.

After the event, there will be food and drinks will be served for those in attendance and those who volunteered during the event.