By Scott Mainwaring Vexilloid Tabloid #60 FIAV, the International Federation of Vexillological Associations, has called 1 October 1961 the “birth-day of modern vexillology” as it marks the debut of the world’s first journal of flag studies: Gerhard Grahl and Whitney Smith’s Flag Bulletin. This birthday, I think, calls for an annual celebration of all things… Continue reading 1 October Is World Vexillology Day
Today marks the 195th year of independence for the Central American nations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. An excellent day to learn to distinguish this close-knit family of flags. To make this a bit more challenging, here are the versions of the flags for civilian use ("civil flags"), and in random… Continue reading El Quince de Septiembre
The October 2016 edition of the PFA club newsletter, The Vexilloid Tabloid #60, is here, featuring: 1 October Is World Vexillology Day (Scott Mainwaring) How Albany, Oregon, Got a Flag (Cole Pouliot) The Flag of Null Island (Ted Kaye) 1993 Proposals for Macau's Flag (Patrick Genna) Powell Boulevard's Flag Parade (Ted Kaye) Editor's note: In this issue, Scott Mainwaring tells… Continue reading Vexilloid Tabloid #60
By Michael Hale Owner Emeritus, Elmer’s Flag & Banner The line began forming even before our store opened on the morning of 11 September 2001. We were still stunned by what we’d seen on TV—the twin towers collapsing, the thousands of people who died. But we had to proceed. We had begun sending massive orders… Continue reading Memories from a Flag Store on the Morning of 9/11
by David Koski, Vexilloid Tabloid #59 When I was young I would often see half-gallon cartons of ice cream packed with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavors. It was called “Neapolitan”, a good item for a big family like ours, because we needed our choices. That came to mind recently when reading an article about the… Continue reading Ice Cream Flags
The long wait for news about Fiji's long-delayed plans to change its flag is over. Yesterday Prime Minister JV Bainimarama cancelled any such plans "for the foreseeable future". He released the following short statement: It has been deeply moving for me as Prime Minister to witness the way Fijians have rallied around the national flag as our… Continue reading Fijian PM Cancels Plans To Change Flag
In June we announced the launch of a process to find a flag for Albany, Oregon initiated by our fellow Oregonians at GUAVA (Greater Unified Albany Vexillological Association). Five finalists have been chosen and the public has been rating each on a scale of 0 (low) to 10 (high) at cityofalbany.net/flag. This phase ends this Monday (8… Continue reading Voting Ends 8/8 for Albany Flag Contest
Situated between lakes Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam, the small New Hampshire city of Laconia has technically had a flag since 1965. Technically, but not really in practice, as the Laconia Daily Sun notes, "a facsimile flag is encased and hangs on the wall in the Laconia City Council chambers, but that really is the extent of the functionality… Continue reading Bree Henderson Spurs Laconia, NH To Redesign Its Flag
Several city flag redesign proposals have won public competitions, but have not been approved by their city governments as official city flags. Almost all contest winners find themselves in this state immediately after a contest ends, but sometimes the wait for an official decision can extend apparently indefinitely. What can be done to move these winning designs… Continue reading In Limbo, Waiting For Approval
Joplin, Missouri has a flag, but you'll be hard pressed to find an image of it. Online, the best available would appear to be this photograph from blogspot.com. [UPDATE: Jonathan Souder (@dadgif) helpfully provided this much better image.] Joplin Code 1977, § 1-22 explains the various features of the flag, from 24 stars (for Missouri's rank… Continue reading Joplin, Missouri Flag Redesign Contest
Portland Flag Association 