Flag Day, while not an official federal holiday, is an annual celebration of when the American flag was instituted in 1777. This holiday has not been overtly celebrated in our community, until now. Partnering with the Town of Carbondale and the Carbondale Public Arts Commission, Age-Friendly Carbondale, a nonprofit group dedicated to enriching the community — from town infrastructure to the arts, is organizing an installation on Flag Day: Sunday, June 14.
The installation will consist of the American flag, the Colorado flag and almost 50 other flags in between that represent Carbondale residents.
“We just wanted to do something this year, 2026, that would lighten up the community. Not everything is divisive,” said Niki Delson, one of the founding members of Age-Friendly Carbondale and the visionary of the Flag Day project. “We received 20 Latino countries, Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Germany … This is what the DNA of Carbondale is, not the division that we hear every day on social media.”
That’s right — within Carbondale, people from different countries to different states found a home here. This Flag Day celebration is about representing the wonderful residents that make up and enrich this town.
“Patriotism is very nuanced. You see patriotism through the lens in which you were raised, and there are beautiful parts of America’s history that are a part of what the flag represents,” Delson stated in conversation about what the original Pledge of Allegiance said and how a lot of people have been fighting for freedom and equity.
The Pledge of Allegiance used to simply say: “One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” That was changed in 1954 to: “One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” in an attempt to differentiate the United States from communism during the Cold War.
Delson talked about how the change in the pledge affected her growing up.
“Thinking about the change in the Pledge of Allegiance, how shocking that was to our generation, to say, ‘One nation, under God,’ and now the religious aspect of being patriotic is so blended together, but it wasn’t at all. Patriotism and God were never mentioned together.”
This distinction is significant, because now patriotism feels exclusive for many Americans who do not agree with the current state of affairs or align with a Christian religion.
However, patriotism is not just for one political side or religion. To many, reclaiming the flag to be inclusive of the mixed identities is powerful and patriotic, because that is what America has always been. This Flag Day celebration is thoughtfully showcasing how the flag can be used to represent a positive and colorful future for America.
“People need a breather from the kind of toxicity that we are living with every day,” Delson said.
The flag installation is not about a political agenda; it is simply about honoring this place and the people that live here.
“We need to reclaim the flag. We should not feel conflicted,” Delson stated. “Some of the values — ‘liberty and justice for all’ — that’s beautiful, we stand behind that. ‘One nation, indivisible,’ we stand behind that.”
Age-Friendly Carbondale is hoping this will become an annual installation.
The flags will be up along the Rio Grande Trail behind Carbondale Rec and Town Hall from June 13 to 22.