Pack 94 Event: Blue & Gold Banquet

FEBRUARY PACK NIGHT:
Blue & Gold Banquet

Pack 94 will be holding our annual Blue & Gold Banquet on Saturday, February 18th at Crossroads Community Church, 1501 Gougar Road, New Lenox (map).  Please plan to arrive by 12:30PM, as the event will begin promptly.

The Blue & Gold Banquet is an opportunity to celebrate all of the great advancement work our Cubs have done throughout the year.  Many boys will be receiving their badges of rank at this time.  The event will also feature the Ceremonial Team of Rainbow Council's Waupecan Lodge of the Order of the Arrow in full Native American regalia. It promises to be an inspiring spectacle!

The highlight of the Blue & Gold Banquet, as always, will be the Crossover Ceremony.  After our Webelos II Scouts are presented with their Arrow of Light (Cub Scouting's highest honor), they'll take their first steps as Boy Scouts, joining the Troop of their choosing.

This year's theme is "When I Grow Up" and the hall will feature decorations made by our Cub Scouts illustrating their future aspirations.  Additionally, several Eagle Scouts will be displaying some of their own Scouting memorabilia to give Cubs an idea of what their paths toward adulthood through Boy Scouts might be like.

Tickets are $5 each.  Due to seating and dining limitations, Cubs are asked to bring only their immediate family.  Webelos II Scouts may bring grandparents, as well.

It's going to be a great celebration!  See you there!


Why are the Cub Scout colors blue and gold?


Many, many moons ago, the great chief Akela called a council to see what could be done to make his tribe the best of all tribes. He told the first Indian brave to climb the mountain and tell the eagle to fly high into the sky and bring back part of the beauty of the sun. He told the second brave to go into the forest and tell the sparrow to fly high into the sky and bring back part of the beauty of the sky.

After a while, both braves returned. One carried a bottle of blue water, the other a bottle of gold water. Akela told the first brave to pour some of the beauty of the sun into the council mixing pot. The brave poured some of the gold water into the pot, causing it to smoke. He then told the second brave to pour some of the beauty of the sky into the council mixing pot. The brave poured blue water into the pot, causing smoke. Chief Akela raised his hands toward the sky.

Akela said, "From this day forward, Blue will stand for truth and loyalty and the sky above. Gold will stand for warm sunlight, happiness, and good cheer." Then, Akela reached into the pot and pulled out the Cub Scout neckerchief.

And that's why the Cub Scout colors are Blue and Gold. 

from Pack 207, Portland OR

History of the
Blue & Gold Banquet

"The story of the Blue and Gold originates in the depression years of the 1930s. In 1933 "Cub Leaders' Round Table" suggested Parent-Cub dinners. Some of the first ones noted were in Milwaukee; Wilcox, Arizona; and Michigan City, Indiana. Pack 1 of Michigan City started the tradition of pot-lucks, but with a twist. The dads were to bring utensils made of wood and carved, sawed or whittled by the cub and his dad. Throughout the later years of the 1930s there were a number of father and son bean dinners and Cub family dinners. In the early 1940s the name "Blue and Gold Banquet started to be used and first appeared in BSA literature in 1943.

If I had to do a quick introduction to the history of the Blue and Gold, I think I'd tell the Pack that the idea of a Blue and Gold Banquet is a very special reminder about the Cub Scout motto "Do Your Best." Why? Because when times were hard during the depression and when families were separated during a terrible war, everyone did their best for their families to celebrate the accomplishment of young Scouts. As then we are proud of our Cubs because when things get tough, they always do their best."

from Michael F. Bowman
NCAC, BSA (Virginia)