Our Beloved Betty Hits 100,000 Metres of Flags and Banners!

DESSERTS

You know those spectacular streets banners that brighten up even the rainiest of morning commutes?  You may have noticed our beautiful Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation banners in the spring, or even our colourful street banners throughout the West End… but have you ever wondered how they’re made?

Most of the street banners made in our Vancouver facility are made on our DuPont™ Artistri®2020 digital textile printer, but we call her ‘Betty’ for short.

We just celebrated a marvelous achievement!  Betty officially produced over 100,000 metres of flags and banners!  That’s nearly enough material to stretch from our Vancouver store to our Victoria Store!

Photo: Google map from The Flag Shop Vancouver to The Flag Shop Victoria

Photo: Google map from The Flag Shop Vancouver to The Flag Shop Victoria

We got Betty in 2008.  At the time, she was the best digital printer on the market, and our Betty continues to live up to her reputation as a top-quality digital textile printer.  The fact that all of our street banners have been printed through her leaves no doubt that Betty is one heck of a workhorse!

If you haven’t been lucky enough to lay your eyes on some of the banners that Betty has made, check out the photo gallery below!  You won’t be disappointed!

Do you want to put Betty to work on your own custom flag or banner?  Request a quote on our website or email us at Vancouver@flagshop.com.

Thanks for stopping by our blog!

Until next time,

Ally Quinney
Public Relations and Social Media Manager

The Flag Shop Celebrates Pink Shirt Day

On February 24th, also known as Pink Shirt Day, everything looked rosy at The Flag Shop. From coast to coast, Flag Shop employees slipped on their pink shirts and lined up for selfies.

Anti-Bullying movements are a big deal to us here so we like to do what we can to support the initiatives that come our way. Most recently we launched a school fundraising program that enables schools to spread the Anti-Bullying message while raising money for school initiatives. In the pink shirt photos below, you may even steal a peek of some of the anti-bullying products we carry.

Now without further ado, the parade of pink shirts!

First up were the early risers at The Flag Shop New Brunswick:

Then Le Flag Shop Montreal got in on the lutte contre l’intimidation:

The Flag Shop Winnipeg made Pink Shirt Day a family affair:

While the The Flag Shop Edmonton location felt some puppy love:

Last but not least, the The Flag Shop Head Office staff posed outside for a photo. There were lots of cars driving buy, so hopefully we served as a human billboard for the message.

 

HAPPY PINK SHIRT DAY EVERYONE!


Pink Shirt Day isn’t the only day that promotes the Anti-Bullying movement; next up is Day of Pink on April 13th and the United Nations Anti-Bulling Day on May 4th. For more information on Anti-Bullying initiatives and to learn more about our school fundraising program, visit www.antibullyingflag.ca.

Flag Day 2016: Honouring Patrick Reid

 

Monday, February 15th is a busy day for Canadians. With Family Day for some, and Islander, Louis Riel or Heritage Day for others, many Canadians will be enjoying the last day of a long weekend. However, February 15th is also Flag Day in Canada, and although it is not itself a statutory holiday, it is still one that anyone who loves the red and white maple leaf flag will find wonderfully important.

Canadian FlagUnfortunately, Flag Day 2016 also marks the first Flag Day since the passing of Patrick Reid, a man who was absolutely instrumental in the adoption of our modern flag.

The Adoption of the Flag

In the Fall of 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was pushing through a new Canadian flag. Dubbed the ‘Pearson Pennant,’ this red, white and blue design was not approved in the House of Commons. It was eventually Patrick Reid, who was the Director of the Canadian government exhibition commission at the time, that pulled together and championed the design that we all know today.

There were no shortage of ideas for this new flag – people from all over the country had submitted designs. Through all of them, Reid knew that what was needed was something distinctly Canadian. It had to be a departure from the Canadian Ensign and British flags before it.

Reid wanted a flag that was simple and clear from a distance. He hired one of the Canadian exhibition commission’s designers at the time, the talented Jacques Saint Cyr. The final design, the one we know today, was adopted on February 15, 1965.

A Deeper Connection

As an immigrant to Canada from Ireland, Reid wanted to flag that represented Canada and not the British empire that had previously ruled it. He believed very strongly in Canadian institutions, but also in nation-building. It was important to him that Canada had a unique identity, and that it would stand apart as its own country.
Patrick Reid

The Man Was a Force
According to someone that knew Reid, he had a strong talent for diplomacy. He was firm in his opinions but he was able to make things come to fruition in spite of any conflict. He never had to force his opinions on others and was instead often able to bring others to see his point of view. At the time of the flag adoption, Canadians were divided in many ways over the symbol. Many were quite reluctant to leave the imperial past behind. Patrick Reid stood in the belief that this flag was the right one for Canada, and apparently Canadians agreed.

As we honour the adoption of a flag that is consistently ranked most beautiful and is the envy of others, let’s be sure to take a little second to remember Patrick Reid, a man with a plan, and a flag.


The Canadian Club of Vancouver will be hosting their annual Flag Day luncheon on Monday, February 15th. This will mark the first year in many that Patrick Reid will not be in attendance to speak about the Canadian flag. More information about the event can be found on their website.

There will also be a Flag Raising and City Proclamation at Vancouver City Hall at 8:45am that same day.

To learn more about Patrick Reid, who was also instrumental in Expo ’87 and the Rick Hansen ‘Man in Motion’ Tour, the Globe and Mail as well as the Vancouver Sun wrote some very comprehensive obituaries. The Vancouver Sun also wrote specifically about his involvement in the development of the Canadian flag.

Many thanks to Ted Hawthorne and Raymond Greenwood for their assistance.

A Celebration of Diversity in Moncton, NB

Is it the United Nations? No, it's the inclusive cafeteria at Evergreen Park Elementary School.

Is it the United Nations? No, it’s the inclusive cafeteria at Evergreen Park Elementary School.

For Evergreen Park Elementary in Moncton, N.B. flags go hand in in hand with every new school year. As New Brunswick becomes more culturally diverse, so do its students, and this school has found a great way to make new students feel welcome.

Adorning the walls of their cafeteria are flags of the world. Every flag represents a student or students that attend Evergreen and whose cultural heritage lies in another country. These flags serve to create a friendly environment for students and to remind everyone that Evergreen is an inclusive place that supports the ideals of multi-culturalism.

Madame Antigone Panagiotakis, the school’s principal, had this to say about the flag program:

“We are very pleased that Evergreen Park School’s student population is becoming increasingly diversified, with many international families choosing to make Evergreen Park School their home.  In order to welcome our international students, we decided to display their country’s flag. These flags celebrate our school’s multicultural flavor, create an inclusive environment, and prepare our students for today’s global community.”

The Province of New Brunswick has an official policy on multiculturalism which states:

“New Brunswick’s policy on multiculturalism strives for a unity which does not deny or eradicate diversity but which recognizes and transcends it. At the same time, it seeks to ensure that in acknowledging and appreciating cultural diversity, these differences, so accentuated, do not become a cause of discriminatory treatment to impede individuals in their desire to become an integral part of the larger community.”

The flags serve this initiative by visually accentuating the differences in culture while at the same time encouraging equality through hanging equally sized flags at equal heights in the same shared space. They also help to beautify a public space in the school, making it a more desirable community environment.

Great job Evergreen Park!!

—-

World flag collections are a great way to celebrate diversity in your community. To start your own international flag collection, visit the World Flag section of our online store.

UPDATE: The school has been featured by Global News!

Pride 2015: Vancouver Wrap-Up

2015 was a big year for The Flag Shop’s involvement in LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations with a lot of firsts. We launched our new Pride mini-site: pride.flagshop.com, joined in partnerships, and made donations to important local charities as well as launching a new contest. Read on to see the specifics of our involvement.

This year The Flag Shop came out in a big way. While our company has a longstanding relationship with members of the LGBTQ+ community this year we really took things to the next level.

Beginning in May, with the launch of our Pride-specific website, pride.flagshop.com, our commitment to the cause has really taken on steam. The website not only features our entire Pride product line but has also expanded to include a comprehensive listing of Pride events across Canada, Pride news coverage, a listing of Pride Societies across Canada and more. We are working on adding new products to our line to better serve the LGBTQ+ community.

Clockwise (from top-right): Our media wall looking great at this info booth (Photo: Vancouver Pride); Two of our Pride booth workers; A custom sewn Transgender flag for PFLAG Vancouver; One of our furry booth volunteers; Some Flag Shop paper flags adorning some fabulous shopping carts in the parade. (Photos: Rebecca Love)

Clockwise (from top-right): Our media wall looking great at this info booth (Photo: Vancouver Pride); Two of our Pride booth workers; A custom sewn Transgender flag for PFLAG Vancouver; One of our furry booth volunteers; Some Flag Shop paper flags adorning some fabulous shopping carts in the parade. (Photos: Rebecca Love)

We also deepened our involvement with local charitable organizations. We recently worked with the Vancouver Pride Society to produce a media wall for them as well as running a Pride flag booth at the Vancouver Pride Festival with proceeds being donated. We also donated a hand-sewn transgender flag for PFLAG Vancouver, an organization that speaks for a more accepting Canadian society in regards to sexual orientation and gender identity issues.

From left to right: A standing banner outside of the Out on Screen Gala Opening; Two retractable banners fresh off the press in our production warehouse.

From left to right: A gamma banner outside of the Out on Screen Gala Opening; Two retractable banners fresh off the press in our production warehouse.

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival has some great new banners at a discount as a result of another print partnership, this time with their organizer, Out on Screen.

From left to right: Early Bird Winner, Tyler; 2nd Place winner, Kylee; Grand Prize Winner, Zoltan

From left to right: Early Bird Winner, Tyler; 2nd Place winner, Kylee; Grand Prize Winner, Zoltan

This was also the year of our first ever #PrideFlag social media contest! In an effort to encourage people to proudly show their Pride Flags all around Vancouver, we launched a photography contest that yielded some great shots and a few excellent winners that helped raise the profile of the Pride flag even further.

From left to right: The Flag Shop Victoria takes part in the local Pride Parade; The Flag Shop London set up a booth at Niagara Pride.

From left to right: The Flag Shop Victoria takes part in the local Pride Parade; The Flag Shop London set up a booth at Niagara Pride.

Better still, it’s not just here in Vancouver that The Flag Shop is involved in Pride activities. Our store in London, Ontario had a great booth set up at Niagara Pride while The Flag Shop Victoria made a giant Pride flag and used a pick-up truck to drive it in the local Pride Parade!

All in all we made some great memories through this year’s Vancouver Pride season. Of course Pride issues aren’t just important at one time of year, so we’ll continue to grow and strengthen our participation in supporting LGBTQ+ people as an ally. What is coming next? I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.

Our First Ever #PrideFlag Contest

The Vancouver Pride Parade is fast approaching, and things are getting rather technicoloured here at The Flag Shop. We love the pride flag (a lot!), and we want to see it out in the community. But we need your help! This is where we ask you, fellow flag enthusiasts, to snap a picture of pride flags out in the community, and share it with us on Twitter or Instagram!

The Challenge

All you need to do is take a respectful photo of the rainbow pride flag somewhere in your community and then, using your preferred social channel, post the picture to either Twitter or Instagram tagging us here @TheFlagShop and using the hashtag #PrideFlag. You have from now until Sunday, August 2nd at midnight to enter via Twitter and Instagram. One entry per person or organization!

Feeling camera shy?

If social media isn’t your thing, we have another way to enter. Stop by our Flag Shop booth at the Pride Festival on August 2, 2015, and you can enter to win by filling out a ballot. No purchase necessary.

The Prizes

Prize-Photo-(2of3)

Two of the flag prizes available in our #PrideFlag Contest. Not pictured: The Canada Pride flag, as it is currently in production.

We have three (3) prizes up for grabs:

  1. EARLY BIRD! The winner of our early bird draw on July 31st will be awarded their very own 33″ x 60″ Pride Pirate flag, made at The Flag Shop Vancouver. Yar! (Value CAD $59.95)
  2. A 36″ x 72″ sewn nylon 6-colour pride flag sewn in-house at The Flag Shop Vancouver. (Value CAD $96.95)
  3. One of the first ever made 36″ x 72″ sewn nylon Canadian pride flag sewn in-house (as we speak!) at The Flag Shop Vancouver. (Value CAD $299.95)

The sewn nylon flags will be drawn for on August 4th at approximately 12:00 pm.

Additional Information

A full version of our official contest rules and regulations is available on our website at: http://vancouver.flagshop.com/pdf/PrideFlag-Contest-Rules-Regs.pdf

Don’t have a flag? We will be handing out 1,000 paper pride flags to our social media followers at the Pride Festival in Vancouver’s West End on August 2nd. Be sure to come and get one for yourself!

The Flag Shop is involved in Pride events all over Canada. For a comprehensive look at The Flag Shop’s involvement, as well as to purchase Pride products online please visit:  http://pride.flagshop.com/.



How to fold a Canadian flag

The Vancouver Sun interviewed Susan for Canada Day about the Canadian flag turning 50. The article also includes a video of our store manager, Deanna, giving a brief history of the red ensign as well as describing how most Canadian flags are folded since there is no standardized way.

Deanna

Photograph by: Nick Procaylo, PNG

http://www.vancouversun.com/Canada+time+display+your+colours/11163362/story.html

The Confederate Battle Flag will not be sold at The Flag Shop going forward

This is just a quick announcement to say that after much consideration, we are halting the sale of Confederate battle flags until further notice permanently.

We will have much more to say about this decision after our peak season is over so stay tuned for further details.

Update: Please see our press release here.

News stories:

5th Annual Mike Gibson Memorial Golf Tournament

On June 13th, 2015 family, friends, and fellow golfers will gather for the 5th Annual Mike Gibson Memorial Golf (MGMG) Tournament to raise funds for the Canucks Place Children’s Hospice. The Tournament was started in June 2011 following the death of Vera Gibson’s son Mike who, alongside his high school sweetheart Kelly Pockett, were involved in an accident that took both of their lives while driving back from the family cabin near Penticton.

Each year about 65 participants ranging in age from teens to late sixties enter the Texas Scramble format tournament, which allows players of all skill sets to participate in a fun filled round of 18 holes. Following the tournament portion with prizes up for grabs, there’s a family style BBQ and silent auction / raffle hosted at the Gibson’s cabin. To date, $15,529 has been raised with no plans to end the tournament anytime soon. Vera says that the Canucks Place Children’s Hospice was specifically chosen because “helping other families who are dealing with challenging circumstances feels like a good fit.”

Mike-Gibson-Golf-Tournament-Group-Shot

This year, after realizing that a windsurfing board and laminated photo of Mike used to promote the tournament was on its last leg, Vera visited The Flag Shop Vancouver to inquire about pricing for a custom flag that would be able to replace the damaged board. After coming across Vera during her in store visit (unaware that she was there to explore signage options), President Susan Braverman, touched by the story behind the tournament and Vera’s ability to turn her loss into something positive was happy to donate a flag of Vera’s choice. The final product – a feather flag specially designed for the tournament – speaks for itself!

Feather-Banner

With no official sponsors or staff, the tournament is truly a labor of love. As not only the main organizer but also an accomplished writer and certified life coach, Vera sees her involvement as an investment of time that would have been spent in other ways if Mike were still here. Instead of celebrating future birthdays and holidays together scattered over the years, Vera’s planning and hard work is a condensed ball of energy that gets poured into the weeks leading up to the event and on the tournament day every year. Although the pain that comes from losing a loved one never disappears, we couldn’t image a better way to celebrate Mike’s precious memory. Thank you for letting us be a part of your wonderful event!

If you know of a special event or charity that needs banners or signage, contact us to discuss how we can help your organization shine.

We are wearing pink today!

Staff in our stores across the country wore pink for Pink Shirt Day (February 25th)!

The Flag Shop Vancouver donated 1,000 Anti-Bullying paper stick flags to I Am Someone‘s annual Walk2Talk event on February 22nd.