Walla Walla Wants Your Help in Picking a New City Flag

Is it time for the city of Walla Walla to update its flag design, or should it just be left as is?

Starting now, you can have your say about it.

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In the spring of 2020, residents of Walla Walla were asked to submit original designs for a possible new Walla Walla city flag. Unfortunately, the project had to be set aside in April so the focus could pivot to responding to the growing COVID-19 pandemic.

A second phase of the design contest was introduced in late 2020, focusing on young artists. You can see all of the submitted designs, from both phases of the contest, here. All submissions were turned over to the City's Arts Commission, whose members voted on the flags they felt best represent Walla Walla.

The six designs presented below are those that received the most number of votes by the Arts Commission. Below each design is the artist's description of what the flag represents or symbolizes.

Click here for a form you can use to rank up to three of your favorite designs and submit your votes. The form will be available beginning today, Flag Day, June 14, until June 28, 2021.

Finally, the three entries that get the most votes will go back to the Arts Commission for a final decision on one winning design. That design will be presented to the City Council to take up whether to adopt it as the new city flag or keep the one that currently flies

1.

A series of W's representing the sky, the hills, the fields, and the river with the sun rising above.

2.   

The custom symbol at the top of the flag represents three things that are important to the city of Walla Walla. Upright it is in the shape of an onion, and flipped upside down it resembles a hot-air balloon. The symbol is also in the general shape of a water droplet, which represents the important bodies of water around Walla Walla. The stripes at the bottom of the flag represent the Blue Mountains as well as the letter W for Walla Walla. The color scheme represents wine and wheat.

3.   

The lines prominent in this design are representative of Walla Walla's notorious rolling hills, blue mountains, and many streams. The drastic yellow circle, whose color comes from the Washington state flag's emblem, symbolizes the rising sun. It both adds body to the hills by peaking over them and casting a reflection in interpretative waters below. The green in the hills and blue in the sky are also pulled straight from the Washington state flag.

4.   

Green and gold progressive stripes: growth and the rows of crops within the fields of the valley. The white seed circle marks the location of Walla Walla within the state and represents the seeds of the various crops harvested throughout the area. Blue triangle: the Blue Mountains.

5.   

The blue double-"W" design represents not only the first letters of the city name, but also the meaning "land of many waters" or rivers, while the gold color within the blue represents the local wheat industry. The green background represents the state motto of "The Evergreen State."

6.   

The Sahaptin name "Walla Walla" means "many waters," and the central blue double "W" pattern represents two of the rivers most closely connected to the city: Mill Creek and the Walla Walla River. The white outlines on either side represent the snow-capped Blue Mountains, while the green of the rolling hills and the gold of the wheat fields round out the design.