American flags will soon fly in front of every Irving home

IRVING, Texas - Volunteers are kicking off an annual event that spreads red, white and blue throughout a North Texas city.

Pretty much all of Irving will be properly decked out for the Fourth of July next week thanks to The Great Flag Caper.

The celebration is marking its 25th anniversary. Around 300 volunteers will set out more than 40,000 flags every few feet in front of homes, businesses and places of worship.

Founder Nell Anne Hunt said she started putting out flags in front of her neighbor’s homes shortly after she moved to the area.

“So I bought 200 flags and went in a concentric circle around my house and put flags in everybody’s yards. Well, the next year everybody liked it so much I bought 400 flags so it went a little further. And then the neighbors came to me and said, ‘This looks so great. We want the whole neighborhood.’ And then before you know it the whole city said, ‘Count us in. We want to do it too,’” Hunt said.

 The patriotic display now covers pretty much all of the city of Irving and even some communities in other cities.

The event attracts everyone – families, grandparents, people of all ages – and equally important, people of all political persuasions – Republicans, Democrats, Independents. The idea is to kind of come together and remember our common values.

“We all want the same thing for our country and our families. We want safe neighborhoods and we want children to be educated properly and so we’re all alike under the flag. And so we come and celebrate that,” Hunt said.

She said the flags also honor the many military families in Irving.

The flags will be set out in three shifts starting Friday evening. Volunteers will be out again Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/Great-Flag-Caper-87306023868/