ShawneeDispatch.com

Johnny Meyers, Nick Burke, Barry Pitman, Don Singo and Charlie Brown have spent the past two Tuesday mornings pouring concrete into 66 plastic salad bowls.

The bowls, propped on long, wooden frames each holding 22 bowls, were destined to be more than just dead weights. They serve as the molds for flag stands that will be used this summer during the third annual, patriotic Fields for Freedom event in Shawnee and Merriam.

Shawnee began its Flags for Freedom event last year as an extension of the Fields for Freedom in Merriam, with the Shawnee Downtown Business Association leading the effort. From June 28-July 4, 2,000 flags will line Johnson Drive through downtown Shawnee.

The Merriam event will include several special activities over the weekend at the Merriam Marketplace, 5740 Merriam Drive, including evening concerts and a special ceremony and performances on the Fourth of July.

This year, organizers hope to add another 500 flags to Shawnee's display to stretch from 55th Street to Shawnee Mission Parkway on Nieman Road. But Meyers, a member of the downtown business association, said the patriotic effort has not seen as much support thus far this year.

"We're about half way of what we had last year at this time," he said.

Most of the funds raised so far have been from organizations and businesses, Meyers said, so they are looking for more individual flag sponsors.

Individuals can sponsor a flag for $25, with yellow dedication ribbons to recognize veterans or those in the military available for an additional $1. At the end of the event, those who sponsored flags can take them home or donate them back to Fields for Freedom.

Groups of flags can be sponsored at higher donation levels, from five flags for $150 at the "citizen" level to 50 flags for $5,000 at the "patriot" level. Sponsors at these levels will receive recognition in the program for the Merriam event, and high-level sponsors also will be recognized on banners and the event Web site.

The downtown business association still has another 66 flag stands to make for the event. Meyers and others contrived the salad-bowl molds to make flag stands last year, and local hardware stores have donated the concrete mix and rebar.

Remembering the sight of flags lining Johnson Drive through the downtown area last year, Meyers hopes people can find the means to contribute to the effort, so there will be enough flags to put all of the stands to work.

"It's really nice, and I feel it does a lot for our community," Meyers said.

For more information, visit www.fieldsforfreedom.org.