Donation Offered to Help Restore "Red Flannel Town"

The Red Flannel Festival is offering a $5,000 donation to the City of Cedar Springs to help bring back banners and other visual symbols identifying the community as “The Red Flannel Town.”

At the Aug. 13 Cedar Springs City Council meeting, council members authorized the city manager to work with Red Flannel Festival President Matt Andres to define how the donation could be used. The council also discussed the importance of setting clear expectations and guardrails so the city and Festival Board can continue working together in a positive and productive way.

The donation was initially discussed as a way to help promote the Red Flannel Festival. Andres, who addressed council during the meeting, clarified that the Festival Board’s intent is broader than event promotion. He said the goal is to help visually restore Cedar Springs’ identity as “The Red Flannel Town” throughout the community.

“I’m really glad to see some momentum coming out of the July City Council meeting,” Andres said. “It was great to see the Red Flannel medallion hung back up in Council Chambers, and I appreciate the Council giving [City Manager] Darla [Falcon] the go-ahead to work with me on some ideas.”

Andres said the Festival Board has unanimously approved spending up to $5,000 to help with the effort, though any final purchases would still come back to the board for approval.

“We’re not looking for anything big or complicated,” Andres said. “We’re looking for some quick, inexpensive ways to put more Red Flannel back around town, including banners on the [Main Street] light poles.”

The offer follows the recent public push for the return of red flannel imagery in Cedar Springs, including the placement of the “Red Flannel Town” medallion in the new council chambers. At the July 9 council meeting, residents spoke in favor of not only hanging the medallion, but celebrating the city’s red flannel heritage more visibly outside of City Hall, with several calling for banners, signs or other symbols that reflect the community’s long-standing identity.

For decades, red flannel imagery could be seen throughout Cedar Springs on signs, benches, waste receptacles and other public features. After a 2012 dispute between the city and Red Flannel Festival, most of those symbols were removed, leaving many residents concerned that the city’s historic identity would be removed for good.

Now, as community interest grows around re-embracing the town's shared identity, the Festival Board is offering financial support to help move the effort forward.

Andres said the existing agreement between the city and the Festival regarding use of the Red Flannel Town trademarks gives both sides a foundation to continue working together.

“We know the City has a new logo and we respect that,” Andres said. “We just want to do our part to bring some of that Red Flannel Town pride back to Cedar Springs.”

The council’s action does not finalize specific projects or spending plans. Instead, it gives the city manager permission to continue conversations with Andres and the Festival Board to determine how the donation could best be used, what types of banners or symbols may be appropriate, and how the city and Festival can coordinate moving forward.

“The city isn’t against adding more signage or Red Flannels,” stated Mayor Lisa Atchison. “We are still The Red Flannel town!”

The discussion reflected a continued effort to strengthen cooperation between the city and the Red Flannel Festival while celebrating a shared community tradition.

Cedar Springs became known as “The Red Flannel Town” in 1936, a 90-year title tied closely to the city’s history, local pride and shared identity. With the Festival Board’s proposed donation, city officials now have an opportunity to take a meaningful step toward making Cedar Springs look and feel like “The Red Flannel Town” once again.