The Somerville Elks Lodge #1068 and borough will host the fourth annual Flag Day Festival on June 9. 2017, in front of the Somerset County Courthouse.
SOMERVILLE - The Somerville Elks Lodge #1068 and borough will host the fourth annual Flag Day Festival on Saturday in front of the Somerset County Courthouse.
The event, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will begin with a public Naturalization Ceremony for 27 Somerset County residents from 16 countries who will become U.S. Citizens in an emotional and patriotic ceremony run by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said Michael Minaides, the Elks Flag Day Committee chair.
While President Donald Trump's immigration policies have been a lightning rod for controversy, and the president will be at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster this weekend, Saturday's event is about celebrating the nation, Minaides said.
"This isn't about politics," said Minaides. "This is about America. We want to feel good about our flag, our country and our freedom. We want to celebrate that and welcome our new citizens. These individuals have taken the extra step to become U.S. citizens. This is proof of what is great about America."
Somerset County Freeholders Mark Caliguire will be the keynote speaker. Freeholder Brian Levine and Somerville Elks Lodge #1068 Exalted Ruler John Blaney will also be among those who will speak at the opening of the flag ceremonies at noon.
The program will include a re-enactment of the historic photograph of U.S. Marines raising the American Flag in Iwo Jima, Japan on Feb. 23, 1945.
Officers of Somerville Elks Lodge #1068 will also conduct a special "Flag Day" flag ceremony to commemorate the birth of the American Flag on June 14, 1777, said Minaides.
The event is free to the public and will feature live music, including the Somerville School of Rock house band, exhibitors and food vendors. Children will be entertained by a bounce house, an airbrush tattoo artist, as well as games and fun activities hosted by the Somerset County YMCA and Somerville Recreation Department.
An AT&T exhibit will include the latest virtual reality equipment.
Revolutionary and Civil War re-enactors will perform, firing their muskets as part of the ceremonies, said Minaides. Children will be able to complete an interactive scavenger hunt with the Revolutionary and Civil Wars as the theme.
Historic military, SWAT, fire and rescue vehicles will also be on display from the Somerset County Sheriff's and Prosecutor's Offices and from the Somerville Fire Department and Rescue Squad.
Furthermore, the Somerville Elks will honor Christopher M. Solan as the 2017 Flag Day Festival American Patriot Award winner.
Solan, an Eagle Scout active in Boy Scout Troop 84 of Somerville and a sophomore at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School, authored a project honoring the flag and our country by literally marking out a route that was instrumental in winning our freedom and preserving this history for current and future generations.
The Elks will announce the winners of its Flag Art and Photography/Digital Image Contest during the noon ceremonies.
The finalist are: Olivia Gong, Danae Churchill, Zac Van Cleef, Kathleen Gorman, Dan Landau, Denise Metzgar, Jonathan Memoli, James Rinaldi, Sarah Strano, Terry Wagner, Alyssa Figliano, Carmen Brown, and Mason Shu. Artwork of the finalists can be found on the Flag Day Festival Facebook page.
More information on the event can be found on the event's website, www.FlagDayFestival.org.
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