Blue and Gold Banquet Opening and Closing
| Category: | Scout Ceremonies |
|---|---|
| Props: | One blue candle and one gold candle (battery candles indoors) |
| Props: | One large white candle in the middle |
| Props: | Lighter or long match |
| Props: | U.S. flag and color guard (optional, for the opening) |
| Notes: | A matched opening and closing for the Blue and Gold Banquet, Cub Scouting's birthday celebration, usually held in February. Light the candles at the opening and put them out at the closing, so the evening has bookends. Replace [PACK NUMBER]. Cub Scouts can read the parts; Webelos and Arrow of Light Scouts usually handle it best. Use a flag ceremony before the opening if your pack does one. See also the blue-and-gold-what-the-colors-mean minute and the Blue and Gold Applause cheer. |
Setup
Place the three candles on the head table: blue on the left, white in the middle, gold on the right. Dim the lights for the opening if you can.
Participants
- Narrator - Cubmaster or an older Cub Scout
- Blue Scout and Gold Scout - light and read for each color
- Pack Scout - lights the center candle
Opening
Narrator: 'Welcome to our Blue and Gold Banquet. Every February, Cub Scouts across the country celebrate Scouting's birthday. Tonight we celebrate ours. Our colors are blue and gold, and each one means something.'
Blue Scout: 'Blue is for the sky above us. It stands for truth and loyalty - telling the truth even when it is hard, and sticking with our friends, our families, and our dens.'
(Blue Scout lights the blue candle.)Gold Scout: 'Gold is for warm sunshine. It stands for good cheer and happiness - the kind you feel at a campout, or when your whole den is laughing.'
(Gold Scout lights the gold candle.)Narrator: 'Blue and gold together make a Cub Scout: someone you can count on, who makes everyone around them a little happier. But it takes more than one Cub Scout to make a pack.'
Pack Scout: 'This light is for all of us - every Cub Scout, every family, every leader in Pack [PACK NUMBER].'
(Pack Scout lights the white center candle from the blue and gold candles together.)Narrator: 'Cub Scouts, please stand. Let us say the Cub Scout motto together.'
All Cub Scouts: 'Do Your Best!'
Narrator: 'Happy birthday, Scouting. Let's eat!'
Closing
(At the end of the evening, the same three Scouts return to the candles.)Narrator: 'We lit these candles to start our celebration. Before we go home, we will put them out - but what they stand for goes home with us.'
Blue Scout: 'Take the blue with you. Be true, and be loyal.'
(Blue Scout puts out the blue candle.)Gold Scout: 'Take the gold with you. Bring good cheer wherever you go.'
(Gold Scout puts out the gold candle.)Pack Scout: 'And take the pack with you. We will see you at the next meeting.'
(Pack Scout puts out the center candle.)Narrator: 'Good night, Pack [PACK NUMBER], and happy birthday to Scouting.'