Blue and Gold Banquet

What is the Blue & Gold Banquet?

To celebrate Scouting Anniversary Week most Packs around the nation celebrate with a Blue & Gold Banquet. The banquet brings families together for an evening of fun and inspiration.

The purpose of the Blue and Gold Banquet is to celebrate the pack's anniversary, recognize pack leaders and other adults who have been instrumental in the pack's success, as well as inspire the leaders, Scouts, and parents. However the primary goal of the banquet program is to appeal not just to scouts but their family members as well. The evening also hosts a Friends of Scouting presentation and a Webelos II Bridging Ceremony. The later is definitely one of the highlights of the evening.

The Arrow of Light ceremony is for the outgoing Webelos II scouts (most of whom have already joined a Troop by then). This is often the last Pack or Patrol activity that these scouts and their families will have with the Pack.

The Arrow of Light is the highest rank possible in Cub Scouts and the only Cub Scout earned badge that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform. Tigers get to sit up front and watch the ceremony with their eyes as big as saucers realizing that one day they will be doing the same!

Pack 1776 History

Historically Pack 1776 had chosen to have the banquet at some neat facilities on a Friday evening in February and catered in some nice food charging sometimes significant fees for attendees. Facilities have included the likes of: South Fork Ranch, Pecan Hollow Golf Club, the Party Barn, and Fairview Farms Corral Barn. While it was nostalgic and a great experience for the Webelos II families and scouts, it was pricey and not very entertaining for the rest of the Pack.

Starting in 2015 the Pack started bringing in entertainment with the never to be forgotten snake handler with subsequent years seeing a really neat magician and a comedian! However attendance has always been an issue for non-Webelos II ranks, so in 2018 the Pack Committee opted to hold it as the February Pack Meeting and have it as a free event.

Before 2011, one of our Cubmaster's attended University of Scouting and took a class about how to make custom arrows for the Arrow of Light ceremony that represent the individual scout's experience and achievements while in Cubs. To this day we still carry on the neat tradition of making the custom arrows by hand.

External Resources

- CS.org: What is Blue & Gold?

- CubScout Ideas: B&G Guides

- The Spruce: B&G Planning

Past Caterers

- South Fork Ranch
- Christina's
- Black Eye'd Pea
- Dickie's BBQ

Past Entertainers

- Bo Gerard, Comedian

Donations Received

- Albertson's
- Outback Steakhouse
- Chick-fil-A
- Sonic

Coordinating the Banquet

Starting in 2012, the Pack 1776 committee elected to have the Webelos I Patrol(s) coordinate the banquet's location, catering, cake, theme, seating arrangements & table toppers, entertainment, invitations, and registration. Too many times in the past, this event fell to the Committee Chair and/or Cubmaster who are already busy with many other responsibilities, so it quickly led to frustrated and burned out leadership. The goal is for the Den Leader to find a parent in the den who can lead the banquet committee and for all of the parents in the Patrol to work together to make it a success. The committee must include:

A Webelos I chosen banquet chair
All parents of the Webelos I patrol(s)
The Webelos II Patrol Leaders to help communicate preferences, needs, & guide larger decisions
Primary Pack Leaders including: CC, CM, ACMs, Advancements, and the Treasurer.

Theme: Activities and Fun!

The theme of this year's Blue & Gold is soley up to the Webelos Patrols (both Webelos I and Webelos II). We've had recent themes like Space, Pirates, Minions, and Snakes.

This is a family event and many times we have families bring little siblings. It is a must that we have crayons, a colorsheet / placemat, and some small trinkets / activities for children (and adults, you know who you are) to play with at the table.

Often times we see picture themed walls (walls decorated for families and patrols to take pictures in front of), theme related games such as fishing for treasure, or even a Sabre Arch at the Pirate themed B&G in 2013.

Food: Catering or Pot Luck

There are a number of options for food. From a catered meal to a pot luck or even a simple pizza party. It is a decision of all Webelos I and II Leaders to make.

Please be cognizant of our Pack members with food allergies such as gluten, dairy, and nuts or tree-nuts as well as religious-specific Vegetarian needs. The easiest way to handle this is through the registration form you up on a site like Signup Genius or the Pack sets up on Formsite (which can take payments via Paypal).

Achievements & Awards

The Pack Leadership is responsible for coordinating the adult and scout awards including the making of the individual custom arrows per scout. Webelos II scouts generally will be receiving their Arrow of Light certificate, their Arrow of Light badge, and their custom arrow from the Pack at Blue & Gold. Some year's we've seen patrols or Pack leadership coordinate frames for the certificates.

Webelos II Leader Reflection

Webelos II Leaders should have the option to present something to their scouts, show a 5 minute slideshow, and/or say a few words about the patrol and the neat and unique experiences that they've had here in the Pack. Coordinate with the Patrol leaders to account for their needs: mic, PA system, laptop, projector, ... .

Parent Gifts to their Scouts

Patrols often coordinate parent gifts to the scouts. We've seen some really nice plaques and displays given out in the past from home made shadow boxes and plaques to display each scout's major achievements to purchased arrow of light plaques engraved with their name to hang their custom arrow from. This should be done many months in advance.

A Google Search for Blue & Gold Plaque Images will give you a lot of ideas. Blue Ribbon Trophies in Plano can help with a several options.

Pack Leadership to Bring

As is custom with Pack 1776, we will be bringing our blue and yellow painted wooden bridge and the large, lighted arrow of light. The large blue felt banner as seen in the picture below along with the normal flags: United States and Pack. We can bring our PA system if needed.

Pack Storage

There are several items in storage from our previous banquets that can optionally be re-used. Work with the CC or CM to get access to those supplies in December or January.

Troop Involvement

Troops that your scouts have joined or will be joining will send a leader to the banquet to present their Troop Class B shirt and Class A Neckerchief or Hat at the end of the bridging ceremony. Be sure that you are in contact with your scout's troops in advance so that they can have time to coordinate sending a leader to make this a special experience!

Selected Past Pictures for Inspiration

We have several years of Pack banquet history that can be viewed for additional coordination inspiration. Contact your CC.

Planning Materials

Attached at the bottom of this page are materials to help your planning this year!

Google Sites

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