OPENING CEREMONIES

Flag Recipe
Alapaha Area Council

Props –

• Large pot, Big spoon, American flag, Stars,
• 1 cup red crepe paper bits,
• 1 cup blue crepe paper bits,
• 1 cup white crepe paper bits,

Cub Scouts form a semi-circle around the pot.  American flag is folded and hidden in the pot.  Each Cub Scout is holding an ingredient, which he adds at the right time:

Cub #1:   We are going to fix for you a treat that is really grand; And make for you a recipe… the greatest in the land.

Cub #2:  First we’ll put in a heaping cup of red for courage true (add red paper to pot)

Cub #3:  And then we will add for loyalty a dash of heavenly blue (add blue paper to pot)

Cub #4:  For purity, we will now sift in a layer of snowy white (add white paper to pot)

Cub #5:  We will sprinkle in a pinch of stars to make it come out right (add stars to pot)

Cub #6:  We will stir and stir and then you will see, that what we made is (stir with spoon)

All:         Old Glory! (pull out the flag from the bottom)  Please stand now as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

I Am an American
St. Louis Area Council

Equipment

• American Flag, and Pack Flags
• 12 cards with the statements below in LARGE print
• Honor Guard, and 12 Cub Scouts to read the statements.

Procedure:TheHonor Guardmarchesin,poststhe flags, andthenleadsthe group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the12CubScoutsreadtheirstatements inturn.

• Mycountrygivesusthe opportunitiestoadvanceaccordingto ourambitionsandabilities.Educationis for all.I am an American.
• My countrymeansloveof freedom,faithindemocracy,justice,and equality.IamanAmerican.
• Mycountrybelievesintheworth ofeveryperson.IamanAmerican.
• Mycountrygivesusthe privilege of expressing beliefs or opinionswithoutfearof prosecution. I am an American.
• Mycountryisademocracy;itis ourdutytokeepitthatway.Iaman American.
• Mycountrypromiseslife,liberty andthepursuitofhappiness.Iaman American.
• Mycountryisonethatwe shouldprotect and defend.I am an American.
• Mycountryisandwillalways remainthelandofthefreeandthehome ofthebrave.IamanAmerican.
• Mycountryneedsinformed, intelligent and active citizens.I am an American.
• My countrytriestomeetits people'sneedswithabidingloveand loyalty.IamanAmerican.
• Mycountriesgovernmentisthe servantnotthemasterofthepeople.I am an American.
• My country has a statue of liberty whose torch will burnbrightly a longaswetendtheflameoffreedom.I am an American.

Our American Heritage
Alapaha Area Council

A Cub Scout stands blindfolded, gagged, and wrists tied before the audience.

Cubmaster:  This is an American boy. 

The American Revolution won him freedom.
                                    (Cubmaster unties him.) 

The Constitution guarantees him free speech.
                                  (Cubmaster removes gag.) 

A free education gives him the ability to see and to understand.           (Cubmaster removes blindfold.)

Let us help Cub Scouting teach him to preserve and enjoy his glorious heritage and to become a good citizen.  Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
Sam Houston Area Council

SHAC had this listed as a Skit.  I like it better here, but it is your choice – Opening, Skit or Closing!  CD

PROPS:

• Curtains on stage - behind which is U.S. Flag (Either a painting, or a print or a real flag opened out flat - blue in upper left corner).
• Artist’s Smock for each Cub (One of Dad’s old shirts), large paint brush and paper palettes.

DL          We are honored to have as our guests a group of famous artists, who are going to combine their efforts and talents to paint us a great masterpiece.  As they are introduced they will tell you what their contributions will be.

• I will paint for you the tradition and charm of New England, showing you the fishing and boating industries of its rugged coast and its historic heritage.  (Steps behind curtain.)
• I will portray through my brush the tremendous harbors of New York City; the melting pot of peoples from many lands that make up its teeming population.  (Steps behind curtain.)
• My artistry will show you the charm of our Southland, the beauty of its magnolias and azaleas, the strength of its struggle through and after the Civil War years; and the contrast of the serenity of Kentucky’s bluegrass country with old New Orleans at Mardi Gras time.
• May I add to our canvas just a little of the beauty of our great Midwest; cosmopolitan Chicago; Detroit, the automobile capital of the world; the waving grain of the rolling plains; and the deep blue of the ten thousand lakes of Minnesota.  (Steps behind curtain.)
• Our great South and Mid-west will be a task to portray, BUT no mere picture can convey the majesty of the Grand Canyon, the beauty of the Painted Desert, the expansiveness of Texas or the splendor of the Colorado Rockies; the fantastic land of geysers, Yellowstone Park, or the Great Salt Lake in Utah.  (Steps behind curtain.)
• Our beautiful West Coast reaches from the hot Mexican border to the cold snows of Alaska.  In between, we find Hollywood’s glamour, the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, towering redwood, sequoia, and Douglas fir trees, the beauty of Oregon’s Crater Lake, and Washington’s majestic Mt. Rainier.  Where once rough, tough gold prospectors were found in Alaska, now tourists spend happy summers experiencing, among other things, Denali and the wilderness of our largest state.  (Steps behind curtain.)
• I will complete our picture with the waves of the famous Waikiki Beach, with Diamond Head volcano in the background of the exotic metropolis of Honolulu.  Our newest State, Hawaii, with its blue waters and active volcanoes makes for a lush tropical paradise.  (Steps behind curtain.)

DL          And now for the unveiling.  May I present our great masterpiece!

As the curtains are slowly parted and “America the Beautiful” is played, the flag is solemnly shown, with the “artists” standing on each side of the United States Flag they just “painted”.

Hard Work Flag Ceremony
Baltimore Area Council

Equipment: American Flag

• When we think of the American Cowboy, we think of long, hard working days.
• Americans built our country with hard work.
• In Cub Scouts we learn about the importance of work and service.
• All workers contribute to the good of society through their labors.
• Each year our nation honors all workers on Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
• Some Americans celebrate Labor Day with a rodeo during the day and fireworks at night.
• Please stand now and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag in remembrance of the contribution of all workers in our country.

Patriotic Opening
Baltimore Area Council

Set Up:  In this ceremony, four Scouts take part. Room is in complete darkness. Spotlight is on the flag with color guards on one side of the room. Three colored candles red, white, and blue are on the table.

• (Lights red candle) The red of my flag is the lifeblood of brave men, ready to die or worthily live, for this, our country.
• (Lights white candle) The white of my flag is for purity, cleanness of purpose, thought, word and deed.
• (Lights blue candle) The blue of my flag is for truth and justice, like the eternal blue of star filled heavens.
• (ALL SALUTE) My flag - the flag of America, home of liberty, land of opportunity, where men of all races and creeds live in friendship and peace together.

Cubmaster: TWO! Lights! Let’s have a cheer for out Opening Ceremony.

I Am Your Flag
Baltimore Area Council
Alapaha Area Council

Set Up:  Flag is posted on center stage.  An adult is hidden off stage with a microphone and the script.  A fan may be set up to cause the flag to flutter in the wind.  A den of Cub Scouts walks by and the Flag calls to them.  They stop and listen and ask questions.

Flag:    Hey, Cub Scouts!

Cubs:   Huh??  What was that??

Flag:    It was me

Cubs:   Sounds like the flag is talking!

Flag:    You are right!

Cubs:   We are learning about you in Cub Scouts.  Can you tell us about yourself?

Flag:    I was born June 14, 1777
I am more than just cloth shaped into a design.
I am the refuge of the world’s oppressed people.
I am the silent sentinel of Freedom.
I am the emblem of the greatest sovereign nation on earth.
I am the inspiration for which American patriots gave their lives and fortunes.
I have led your sons into battle from Valley Forge to the jungles of Vietnam and the deserts of Iraq.
I walk in silence with each of your Honored Dead to their final resting place beneath silent white crosses, row upon row.
I have flown through peace and war, strife and prosperity, and amidst it all I have been respected.

Cubs:   WOW!!  Why are you red, white and blue?

Flag:    My red stripes symbolize the blood spilled in defense of this glorious Nation.
My white stripes signify the burning tears shed by Americans who lost their sons.
My blue field is indicative of God’s heaven, under which I fly.
My stars, clustered together, unify 50 states as one, for God and Country.
“Old Glory” is my nickname, and proudly I wave on high.

Cubs:   What do we need to do?

Flag:    Honor me, respect me, defend me with your lives and fortunes.
Never let my enemies tear me down from my lofty position, lest I never return.
Keep alight the fires of patriotism: strive earnestly for the spirit of democracy.
Worship Eternal God, and keep His Commandments, and I shall remain the bulwark of peace and freedom for all mankind.

Cubs:   I can’t wait until we tell our Den Leader what we learned today!!

“I Am Your Flag,” the flag parts of this opening, were written by Marine Master Sergeant Percy Webb for a flag booklet distributed in 1933.

You’re A Grand Old Flag Opening
Great Salt Lake Area Council

Say a few words about the flag and Flag Day (June 14) and then have everyone stand and sing “You’re A Grand Old Flag,” by George Michael Cohen, as the flags are brought to the front of the room.

“You’re A Grand Old Flag,” by George Michael Cohen

You’re a grand old flag,
You’re a highflying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You’re the emblem of the land I love
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev’ry heart beats true
‘neath the Red, White, and Blue,
Where there’s never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eyes on the grand old flag.