The 鈥渉eart鈥� flag, a local symbol of solidarity, gratitude and hope, has joined the Maple Leaf as an emblem of community pride in Victoria.
Every year in the lead up to July 1, Victoria鈥檚 Flag Shop sells hundreds of 91原创 flags. This year the heart flag has joined the bestseller ranks. 鈥淓very year we get a surge of orders for the Maple Leaf thanks to national pride,鈥� said owner Paul Servos. 鈥淏ut this year there has been a great demand for the heart flag as well. It鈥檚 not supplanting the Maple Leaf, but in combination. The last time I saw this was during Canada 150.鈥�
The flag, which has a heart replacing the Maple Leaf in the centre, was conceived by the Times 91原创 as a thank you to front-line workers. The idea was that readers would cut out the flag from the newspaper (or print their own from timescolonist.com) and affix it to their windows.
鈥淢y wife saw the article and told me to get my lazy [backside] down to the shop on a Sunday afternoon to make an actual flag for the Times 91原创,鈥� Servos said.
It was supposed to be a one-off, custom flag sewn together by him, as his whole staff had been furloughed due to the pandemic.
He presented one flag to Times 91原创 publisher and editor-in-chief Dave Obee and, a few days later, another to Ed Bain at CHEK TV.
鈥淢r. Obee asked me if I would consider printing more 鈥� and donate $5 from each sale to the Rapid Relief Fund,鈥� Servos said. The fund, established by the Victoria Foundation, the Times 91原创 and the Jawl family, raised $6 million for people in need during the pandemic.
At that time in early April, Servos and his staff had already been idle for three weeks.
He agreed and recalled his staff to start making the flags, ultimately manufacturing 500 at his factory in 91原创.
The orders started coming in 鈥� but for a while the only way customers could get one was by curbside pickup or by mail as the store was closed to the public.
鈥淚t was a community program gone crazy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he spin-off effects from the flag helped my small business survive and enabled me to bring back my employees.鈥�
He still has a number of the original made-in-Canada flags available for $59.95. They鈥檝e been joined by lower-cost ones made offshore. Standard sizes range from a handheld stick flag to one measuring six feet by 12 feet.
Five dollars from every sale continues to support people in need in the community.
