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What you are about to see is our flag-folding program,
which is a group program that we do in Flag Hall
Well, we do call it “recruitment”; we need to get our visitors involved.
We start to walk around Flag Hall and ask people if they are interested in participating.
And they’re definitely a little wary at first, ‘cause they don’t really know what to expect.
SPEAKER (in flag hall): Good Afternoon. We’re about to begin a program that involves the Star-Spangled Banner Flag.
We’re going to be unfolding a full-size version of the original Star-Spangled Banner.
It is the flag that inspired the song that we know today as our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Now, to remember that song, we are all going to join in together and sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
[a singer sings “The Star-Spangled Banner”] JULIA IMBRIACO: We’ll put [the participants] into those two lines for that initial unfolding of the triangles.
Once they see the flag, and once the flag gets passed to them, they’re totally on board.
And once that starts happening, that’s really the catalyst to get the rest of the visitors, who are walking in Flag Hall, engaged.
[the singer continues singing anthem throughout] MARY KATE MACKO: We sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” because this is the flag –
this is a replica of the flag -
That Francis Scott Key saw flying over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.
[the participants are singing along loudly now]
[sung] “For the land of the free, and the home of the brave”
JULIA IMBRIACO: Everybody’s always excited – there’s definitely a lot of “Kodak moments” happening –
Lots of parents with their kids
[cheering, clapping]
SPEAKER: The hard part has just begun, because we’re now going to re-fold this large flag.
[instrumental version of “The Star-Spangled Banner”]
MARY KATE MACKO: So, we have to fold the flag back up. It’s 30 x 42 feet, so that takes a lot of cooperation, on the part of our visitors, and a lot of direction-giving on the part of our staff.
[instrumental version of anthem continues]
That takes place in a couple of steps, where we’re folding the flag up three times
and then, fold into triangles.
JULIA IMBRIACO: As soon as the program is over, where we need people to step up the flag as it get folded into smaller bits, it’s always really well-received.
Everybody is always really happy to have participated and just to have touched a piece of history in a way,
and everybody loves it, and we always get people crying [tears of joy, of course]
[instrumental finale]