Flag to be introduced at event on Nov. 28
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver City Council unanimously voted to adopt a new flag after the community-led Flag Selection Committee presented its recommendation to the Council tonight.
“This flag is the result of thoughtful collaboration and creative input from across our community,” said Rose Mendoza, chair of the Flag Selection Committee. “Every element in the design reflects something meaningful about Vancouver, and it is a symbol we can all be proud of now and into the future.”
“Our new flag is a powerful reflection of who we are as a city,” said Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle. “It represents our natural surroundings, the iconic places that define Vancouver, and the creativity that makes our community special. This flag truly tells the story of a community on the rise.”
Residents were involved throughout the process. The City Council appointed a volunteer committee to select the flag from the 138 entries submitted. Once the committee selected the finalists, the City invited the public to provide feedback on them (1,438 responses were received). The committee used this feedback to inform deliberations and the final flag recommendation to the City Council. To ensure a fair and impartial selection process, all entries were reviewed anonymously, without identifying information. During the review, judges independently created two composite flags by combining elements from multiple submissions they felt worked well together. The original creators whose designs inspired these composites were credited for their contributions.
Ultimately, the committee recommended a composite flag composed of elements from the flags created by Brooke Nugent and Nathan Hunter as the next flag for Vancouver. The new flag tells the story of a community shaped by the Columbia River, a deep sense of place, and the generations of people who have called this land home.
- The field of green symbolizes Vancouver’s natural environment, forests, parks, and commitment to sustainability.
- The emblem draws inspiration from iconic Vancouver landmarks (Fort Vancouver, Salmon Run Bell Tower, and the Grant Street Pier). It is a nod to the past and a symbol of forward progress.
- The white chevron is a strong V for Vancouver, a connection between the land and the water, and a path forward.
- The field of blue represents the Columbia River and the community’s deep connection to the river that has shaped its culture, economy, and sense of place.
“Vancouver’s flag is meant to be shared, celebrated, and seen throughout our community and beyond,” said Communications Director Laura Shepard. “It is available for creative use, whether you want to print it on a T-shirt, make stickers, design merchandise, or even get a tattoo of the new flag. The only requirement is to keep the colors and layout true to the design. People can download the official files from our website and start creating.”
The new flag will be formally raised on the City Hall flagpole at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28, followed by a community introduction and official prize presentation at 3:45 p.m. as part of the annual tree lighting celebration.
Visit Vancouver’s Flag to learn more about the new flag.
Information provided by the city of Vancouver.
Also read:
- Opinion: Washington is bleeding taxpayers and now a State Representative wants to make it worse
Mark Harmsworth argues that a proposed statewide payroll tax would worsen Washington’s ongoing loss of jobs, businesses, and economic competitiveness. - Theater students overcome challenges for the love of their art at River HomeLink
River HomeLink theater students overcome an atypical schedule and lack of a stage as they prepare Descendants: The Musical for performances at Prairie High School. - Tix for Tots hosting original Nativity performanceA free Nativity performance and community event hosted by Tix for Tots will take place Dec. 20 in Battle Ground.
- Opinion: Simultaneous left turnsDoug Dahl explains how Washington law directs drivers to make simultaneous left turns by passing to the left of each other in an intersection.
- Opinion: WEA secret meeting about opposing the initiatives gets leakedAn opinion from Let’s Go Washington criticizes a leaked Washington Education Association meeting about opposing LGW’s initiatives on girls’ sports and school transparency.
- WA Gov. Bob Ferguson says his budget will rely on cuts, not taxes, to balanceGov. Bob Ferguson plans to balance Washington’s budget through spending cuts, rejecting sales and property tax increases amid a multi-billion dollar shortfall.
- City of Battle Ground implements electronic plan reviewThe City of Battle Ground launches eReview, an electronic plan review platform that streamlines permit submissions and improves transparency and efficiency starting December 1, 2025.
I had a tuna-fish sandwich for lunch. Yawn.
That is ugly and does not “tell a story.” It’s very obvious no thought was put into it. It actually looks like a rejected beach blanket design. I will bet that if I showed that “flag” to 5,000 people exactly ZERO would think it represented Vancouver Washington. I really hope no one was paid for this. The colors go against basic design aesthetics and it genuinely looks like AI made it. It is super disappointing as I love this city and its forests and wildlife and nothing living is represented on that flag. It is soulless and everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. I’d like to line these fools up and grill them on HOW this hideous result has anything at all to do with this city.
I find it hysterical that the news story says the flag was designed by committee which is laughably known as the worst way to create something. These people are idiots
:
Design by committee – The term is used to refer to suboptimal traits that such a process may produce as a result of having to compromise between the requirements and viewpoints of the participants, particularly in the presence of poor leadership or poor technical knowledge, such as needless complexity, internal inconsistency, logical flaws, banality, and the lack of a unifying vision. This design process by consensus is in contrast to autocratic design, or design by dictator, where the project leader decides on the design. The difference is that in an autocratic style, members of the organizations are not included and the final outcome is the responsibility of the leader. The phrase, “a camel is a horse designed by committee” is often used to describe design by committee.[1]