Help Laconia design a new city flag

LACONIA — The public will soon be using their artistic skills to help the city of Laconia create a new city flag and one lucky individual could walk away with $500 for their winning design.

According to downtown merchant Bree Henderson, a member of the Laconia Flag Redesign Committee, a contest opens Monday and runs through Labor Day for anyone interested in submitting a design for a new city flag for Laconia.

Last fall, Henderson told the Laconia City Council that updating the flag could help residents identify the city better and could be used to help further brand Laconia image during major events like the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival and Laconia Motorcycle Week.

Henderson said she was inspired to suggest creating a new flag after she watched a TED Talks program about flags that inspired her to bring an idea to the Laconia City Council about replacing the flag with a new design that actually can be flown during city events.

"I tried to find the flag and was concerned about its usefulness," she said.

Henderson said she believes that updating the flag could help residents identify the city better and could be used to help further brand Laconia's image during major events.

"The elements of a flag, such as that of the City of Chicago, is a great example of what a well-designed flag can do," she said.

Laconia's current official city flag was adopted by city councilors April 22, 1965 and officially presented to city residents June 25, 1965.

It was designed by then-Laconia High School student Frank Decoster as part of a contest to come up with a city flag. Decoster is now retired and lives in Alton and fully supports the new contest.

"To tell you the truth, it's been an honor to have had my design serve as the city flag for the past 50 years," Decoster said. "It's had a good run and now maybe it's time for someone else to have that honor."

A city committee was formed this spring to determine how to best create a new flag and that group has established a contest open to the public to design the new flag. Contest rules ask that entries be submitted on letter-sized paper or uploaded digitally to a city flag website that goes live Monday.

The Laconia Flag Redesign Committee will review all designs that are submitted and present three finalists to the Laconia City Council in September to choose the winning entry. The new city flag is expected to be available by the end of the year.

The first-place winner will be awarded $500 and their design will be adopted as the city's new official flag, Laconia will award $300 to the second-place design and $200 for third place.

Decoster's flag design is rectangular and divided in four triangles. In its center is the outline of Lake Winnipesaukee and the city seal over it, with Laconia, New Hampshire, inscribed on the lower triangle.

The city's seal is black on gold, the lettering is gold with black outline, the lake is dark blue, the top triangle is international green, the bottom triangle is international blue and its side triangles are white with the city seal in gold over the black image of Lake Winnipesaukee.

A facsimile flag is encased and hangs on the wall in the Laconia City Council chambers, but that really is the extent of the functionality of the city's current flag.

Starting Monday, submissions will be taken at the Laconia Public Library or electronically at laconiacityflag2016@gmail.com