Ringgold's Festival of Flags Is Built One Name at a Time

Ringgold's Festival of Flags is scheduled to run from Wednesday, November 4, through November 18, along the highways, on the courthouse lawn and on the side streets downtown. There are more than 2,000 of them, and each one stands beside a cross carrying the name of a veteran with ties to Catoosa County. None of those names were put there by the city on its own. A family filled out a form for each one, paid a donation and waited for the next display. Then volunteers put the flag in the ground by hand. That is why the display grows every season. It started with 12 flags in 1970. In May 2025 it honored 2,129 veterans, with service going back to World War I.

It Started With Twelve Flags at Anderson Cemetery

Catoosa County's 2017 proclamation honoring the flag program traces the tradition to Ringgold VFW Post 8153 in 1970, which began with 12 flags. According to a 2018 account in Rising Rock, those first flags were placed at Anderson Cemetery. Ralph Teems, Charles Teems and Wallace Hall are named among the early workers.

The program outlived the organization that started it. When Post 8153 closed, the City of Ringgold took custody of the flags and agreed to act as fiscal agent for the Flag Committee. The same proclamation names former Mayor Joe Barger as the link between the original VFW effort and the committee that carries it on today. The Ringgold Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Development Authority are also credited with supporting the display.

That arrangement explains how the display works now. The city holds the flags and handles the money. The committee and its volunteers do the physical work. Families decide whose names are added.

How a Name Reaches a Cross

The City of Ringgold posts the Catoosa County Veterans Memorial Flag Project application, effective January 1, 2022. It sets out what goes into each new cross:

1. Eligibility. The veteran must have been honorably discharged and must have lived in Catoosa County at some point in their life.
2. Timing. The veteran's death must fall within three years of the date the application is submitted.
3. Proof. A copy of the death certificate or obituary goes in with the form.
4. The cross itself. The family gives the name as it should appear, up to 22 characters and spaces, along with branch of service and awards, service dates or conflict, and the school the veteran attended, if known.
5. The donation. The initial cost is listed as a donation of $80, payable by check, cash or credit card.

The three-year window matters most. Under the current form, new crosses are added for veterans who died recently. So each Memorial Day and Veterans Day display picks up names from the county's most recent losses and adds them to the rows that have stood since the 1970s. That is how 12 flags became more than 2,000.

The deadline is set by the display calendar. Coverage from WTVC in October 2025 said forms must be submitted at least a month before the next display. The festival page notes that flag procurement information is coming soon and directs questions to Ringgold City Hall. WTVC listed the City Hall number as 706-935-3061.

Who Puts 2,000 Flags in the Ground

Every flag in the display is placed by volunteers. WTVC's October 2025 report said the event is organized entirely by volunteers. That includes seamstresses who repair worn flags and the community members who mark and place each one. For the May 2025 display, WTVC reported more than 100 volunteers placing the flags and crosses, with Gilbert Childers serving as a project coordinator. In that outlet's October 2025 coverage, Childers and Pete Pedigo were the contacts for anyone who wanted to help.

The work doesn't stop when the display goes up. The flags stay out for two weeks around each holiday, going up one week before Memorial Day or Veterans Day and coming down one week after. After that, volunteers take every flag down and store it until the next season. With two displays a year, each flag gets set out, taken down and stored twice. The seamstresses repair the wear in between.

The courthouse lawn has its own section. In May 2025, WTVC counted 48 crosses there marked killed in action, six marked as prisoners of war and one Vietnam-era MIA.

Where the Rows Run

The display isn't limited to downtown. The City's flag location key from the May 2026 display lists these areas:

• Downtown core: Tennessee Street and City Hall, the Ringgold Depot along Depot Street, and the courthouse lawn
• Highways: several stretches of Highway 41 and Highway 151
• Neighborhood streets: Maple, Lafayette, Robin, Cleveland, Sparks, Guyler, Clark Circle, Mt. Street, Clark Street, Whitten, Christian, High and Stephenson

The key uses everyday landmarks to mark where each section begins and ends. Among them are First Baptist Church, Cadence Bank, the Post Office, Walgreens, Mt. View Jeep, Inline Electric, Tiger Trail, Battlefield Parkway, Ringgold High School and the Board of Education building. Because the location lists are posted by name, a family can find one specific cross among more than 2,000. The Festival of Flags page links to the location lists and says the Veterans Day 2026 locations will be posted there.

The festival page describes the display as something you can drive or walk through. With flags along the highway stretches and on a dozen side streets, a slow drive is the practical way to see all of it. The compact downtown blocks around the Depot and the courthouse lawn are easy to cover on foot.

Saturday's Car Show Pays for the Flags

This Saturday, the flags also serve as the backdrop for a fundraiser. The Veterans Flag Fund Car and Tractor Show runs November 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Robin Road. Cars and tractors will be parked under rows of flags lining both sides of the street. Every dollar raised goes to the Veterans Flag Fund, which supports the Festival of Flags.

Spectators get in free. Food trucks will be on site all day. Spectators pick the winners, voting across car classes split by decade. Tractors are on display but won't be judged. Anyone who wants to show a vehicle registers on the day only, for $20, and should arrive before 10 a.m.

Several other events fall while the flags are still up:

Saturday makes for a full day. The car show on Robin Road wraps up at 5, and Cruzin' the Depot starts at the same hour on Nashville Street with classic cars, trucks and bikes. The following Saturday, the SEC Watch Party is free, with kickoffs at noon, 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The matchups hadn't been set when it was listed. On the same day, the Holiday Market brings the Rabbit Valley Farmers Market to Ringgold United Methodist Church.

After November 18

Once the volunteers take the flags down and pack them away, the downtown calendar turns to Christmas. The Ringgold Down-Home Christmas Parade is Friday, December 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. It starts at Ringgold High School and includes the tree lighting at Citizen's Park, at Nashville and Tennessee streets. Free photos with Santa follow the parade. A week later, the Ringgold Playhouse stages "Scrooge: One Year Later," December 11 through 13. It's the company's first holiday season at its new two-building venue at 7847 Nashville Street, after 12 years of shows at the Depot.

The flags come back before Memorial Day 2027. Any names added through City Hall in the meantime will be among them.

The Dustin Mullins Team works with homeowners across Ringgold and Catoosa County, and we keep track of the events that fill these streets each season. If you have questions about your home, or want a clear plan for what comes next, Schedule Free Consultation and we'll get back to you quickly.