The USA/Back The Blue flag event is designed as a free and simultaneous event held in as many places as possible across the USA on Sunday May 15, 2022 at 1 pm (eastern time).
A short ceremony occurs at 1 pm with the USA flag and this is repeated at 2 pm with the Back the Blue Flag. Zoom, live social media and news footage link everyone together to produce a nationwide montage of synchronized video.
This event is designed as a water event, but the flags can be formed in a park or parking lot with enough space. If formed on land the air mattresses that make the flag can be carried over your head to make a moving flag to resemble what a marching band does.
To attend each person brings their own painted air mattress, lifejacket and whistle. They may also bring a hot dog and apple pie in zip lock bags, sparklers and a lighter in another zip lock bag, a small air filled toy ball (tennis ball) painted as a baseball and one or two bottles of water. Wear patriotic clothes. Ear plugs should be used! If the event has a leader, they should have an air horn to signal the time to start the pledge of allegiance at 1 pm and at 2 pm.
At noon people gather and start forming the USA flag. A 2′ wide space is made between each row so people can stand beside their air mattress.
At 1 pm a short air horn toot or whistle signals the start of the pledge of allegiance. This is followed by the singing of the national anthem. This is followed by one minute of silence for fallen Peace Officers. This is followed by a short air horn toot and everybody gives three cheers (hip, hip horay, hip, hip horay, hip hip horay) after the last hooray they throw their balls in the air and can whistle for the duration of time that their balls are in the air. Everybody then cheers and claps. Speeches, songs and games occur but at 1:59 everybody shouts “Mutiny” and the USA flag flips to make the “Back The Blue” flag. At 2 pm the pledge of allegiance starts and the ceremony repeats. The sparklers are lit after the cheers of the second flag as some air mattresses may get accidently get burned and deflate. Pirate games and possibly a food fight with hot dogs and apple pie begins.
This event can be a spontaneous flash mob event formed without a leader or an organized event with a leader, band, concession stands and more but it should be a free event. The Pirate Dive Bar website can be used to assign positions or flag positions can be created on the spot by people simply choosing their own location and attempt to form a flag randomly by making guesses to size and position.
The PirateDiveBar.com web site lets people register by State, county and city to easily create flag events across this nation.