Darien High School senior leads effort to change town flag
The plan is to keep the flag up outside Town Hall for a couple of months, then have a vote on whether or not to make the change permanent in mid-July.
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Darien High School senior Harris Cavanna has been working to change the town's flag for the last year.
Cavanna says he fell down a rabbit hole learning about other places changing their flag.
"After thinking maybe, I could sort of apply this to our town, I Googled what the town flag was, and saw room for improvement," he says.
The current town flag has the seal of Darien on a simple white background, leading Cavanna to "impulsively" send an email to Darien First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky.
Zagrodzky responded to Cavanna's surprise.
"At first, I thought, 'Gee, do we really need to change the flag?'" Zagrodzky said. "But he had such enthusiasm for the idea and really wanted to talk about it, I said, 'Why not.'"
With Zagrodzky helping him navigate the town government, and Cavanna handling the creative side, the two have been working together to mock up designs with a graphic designer, send out surveys and meet with the board of selectmen.
Cavanna says at first, he was not sure how things would go and wanted to keep the project a secret from even his family and friends.
"I got recognized at my prom - somebody said 'Oh you're the flag guy?' And I said, 'No' and walked away because I had my date with me," Cavanna remembers.
Luckily, Cavanna's date and the rest of the town did not think the idea was a red flag. He says he received over 1,200 responses to the two surveys he sent out.
"I am surprised at how many people care, because I really thought it was a really niche interest of mine," Cavanna admits. "But flags sort of represent the town and the community."
From the survey results, Cavanna and Zagrodzky decided on a blue and white one, showing seagulls flying over the Rings End Bridge.
The Darien Board of Selectmen agreed to literally run the design up the flagpole – flying it outside Town Hall starting in early May for a trial period.
"To see that go up on the flag pole and get peoples' reaction - there's nothing better than seeing a project go from start to finish," Zagrodzky said.
Cavanna will be heading to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall.
"I'm not going to call it a legacy, but it's cool to know that one of my ideas has stuck around," he says.
The plan is to keep the flag up outside Town Hall for a couple of months, then have a vote on whether or not to make the change permanent in mid-July.
"I'm proud of what I've done and what I've accomplished," Cavanna said. "If it happens, it happens, and it's awesome, but if not, I've got a great experience out of this."
Cavanna will also be interning with Zagrodsky this summer, before heading off the college.
