Funds from annual flag event this weekend to benefit area kids.
MISHAWAKA -- This weekend, south of the St. Joseph River, people are being invited to swim in a red, white and blue sea. The second annual Healing Flags & Honor Field event, a display of 500 U.S. flags, is scheduled to begin Thursday. The event, organizers said, is "a celebration of patriotism and service" and a fundraiser to benefit local children. Flags and ribbons will be for sale from Thursday to Monday in a tent at the corner of Main and Church streets. Flags will be placed on a large expanse of land there, south of the bridge and along the Memorial Day parade route. Flags are $30. Ribbons are $5. The event was organized by the Mishawaka Exchange Club and the Mishawaka Breakfast Optimist Club. "A hundred percent of the money goes back into the community," said Jerry Borsodi, president of the Mishawaka Exchange Club. The Mishawaka Exchange Club works to prevent child abuse. The Mishawaka Breakfast Optimist Club serves children in area schools. People can write a loved one's name on a ribbon and place it on a flag to remember them, Borsodi said. Planners hope to have placed at least 500 flags by Monday, which is Memorial Day. People may walk along the rows of flags during the Memorial Day parade, Borsodi said.