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Patriotism to be celebrated during Flag Week

By Laura Giles - Herald Correspondent | Jun 26, 2022

Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

Big Betsy, a giant American flag, waves in the breeze after being unfurled with the help of members of the community and Follow the Flag on Thursday, July 5, 2018, at Grove Creek Canyon in Pleasant Grove.

Flag Week, an annual celebration in Utah County that always falls during the week of Independence Day, kicked off on June 26 with “Walk with the Flag” and will run through July 10. The most visible sign of the annual celebration is when the giant American flag, Lady Liberty, flies above the Grove Creek Canyon Trailhead. While Lady Liberty is at the forefront of the celebration, there are plenty of other patriotic activities planned throughout the week.

Eight years ago, on the morning of July 4, a giant flag was unfurled above the canyon, surprising residents. For days leading up to the event, Pleasant Grove resident Kyle Fox and other volunteers promoted on social media a special, surprise patriotic event called “By The Dawn’s Early Light.” However, details were not given. Fox waited for the grand reveal. “Expect to enjoy patriotism that you can see, hear and feel,” read the announcements. The location of the event was not given until the night before.

“We were worried about getting in trouble that first time. We weren’t thinking anywhere outside of how to get a rope across the canyon and hang the flag and get up and down the mountain,” Fox said. “There was no future outlook at the time.”

Since that first time, a giant flag has been unfurled every year in the same spot. A new flag has taken the place of the original Big Betsy, although Big Betsy still attends events all year-round. Lady Liberty, measuring 154 feet by 78 feet, will be unfurled on the morning of July 4 at the Eighth Annual Dawn’s Early Light Flag Ceremony, which begins at 7:30 a.m.

On Saturday, at 7 p.m., people were invited to meet at the Pleasant Grove City Cemetery to walk with the flag and help carry Big Betsy the 1.7 miles up to Grove Creek Canyon Trailhead. Spectators both watched the walk and joined in as people traveled up 500 North in Pleasant Grove. The walk is a way to get people excited about the upcoming patriotic festivities each year.

“The flag means so much to so many people and I cannot describe it to you, what the recipe is, but the beauty of that flag in the canyon has captivated young and old, patriotic people and not. It just captures you,” Fox said. “It’s nothing more than something that is inspired from above and it has taken us all by storm.”

Other activities throughout the week include a 5K Run to Remember, which will be held on July 9. Also on that day will be a Freedom Fair, including veterans’ organizations and food trucks, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grove Creek Canyon parking lot. According to Fox, the Freedom Fair was first held last year. “It’ll be a big day, a really cool morning under the flag,” he said.

A blood drive will be held on July 5 at an LDS Chapel, 942 N. 500 East, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. A Motorcycle Freedom Ride will be held on July 9 and a closing ceremony, featuring live musical performances, will be held on July 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Since that first day in 2015, when Big Betsy was unfurled above the canyon, Follow the Flag has organized 15 different canyon flag flights in three different states.

People interested in receiving alerts to Follow the Flag events can do so by texting the word “flag” to 435-274-2933. “You can also communicate back to us and give us insights on activities that we could be involved with,” Fox said.

More information about Flag Week can be found on Follow the Flag’s Facebook page or the organization’s website at http://FollowtheFlag.org. Residents from across Utah County are encouraged to drive or walk up to the Grove Creek Canyon Trailhead in Pleasant Grove to see Lady Liberty.

“Having a place that people feel at peace and at home and having a group of people to be with is definitely healing,” Fox said. “The spirit is just intense. We’ve called it hallowed ground up there. There’s just something special about it.”

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