Three thousand American flags will fly for the 11th year on Sept. 8-15, 2023, during Patriot Week at the Prescott Valley Civic Center.
Flag Installation: Community volunteers, including those from the Central Arizona Fire & Medical Authority, the PV Police Department, other local law enforcement agencies and veterans’ groups will install the flags on the field on Friday, Sept. 8. Each flagpole bears the name and information about the victims of the attacks. Those who would like to volunteer to install or take down the flags, maintain the field during the week, or serve in the information booth may visit www.healingfieldpv.com to sign up. Sadly, this year the Healing Field lost one of its most dedicated volunteers, Richard Bowman, who did most of the midweek flag maintenance and other tasks. The Healing Field is seeking more volunteers who will honor Richard by helping with these needs during Patriot Week.
Patriot Run/Walk: On Saturday, Sept. 9, the Patriot Run/Walk, with all proceeds going to the Central Arizona Honor Guard, will begin at 7 a.m. For information and to register visit www.patriotrunpv.com/ or the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pvpatriotrun.
Benefit Pancake Breakfast: Local restaurant Ciao Bella will sponsor a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, Sept. 9 with all donation proceeds going to purchase flags and maintain the fields. At 10:30 a.m. following the run and the breakfast, a Blessing of the Field ceremony will take place at the Theater on the Green at the PV Civic Center.
Annual 9/11 Patriot Day Ceremony: On Monday evening, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m., the Town will host the annual 9/11 Patriot Day Ceremony at the Theater on the Green. The ceremony will include fire and police Honor Guards, National Anthem, and rifle volley and taps by the American Legion Post #6 Honor Guard. Central Arizona Fire & Medical Authority firefighters will lower a giant American flag from the roof of the Civic Center. Keynote speaker this year will be Stacey Goodman. Stacey was a police patrol officer on Long Island on 9/11. She had been receiving ongoing and extensive training in disaster response and was a member of a federal disaster response team that was always ready to deploy. On 9/11, she was immediately activated for duty and reported to the heart of chaos, right in the middle of Ground Zero, where she spent the next 23 days.
Field open 24/7: The flags will fly around the clock at the Civic Center during the week, and the public is invited to come, walk the field, and pay their respects to those lost on 9/11/2001.
For more information, please visit www.healingfieldpv.com or call 928-759-3123.
