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Some 7000 School Children Create Living Flag For Star-Spangled Kickoff

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—The Star Spangled Spectacular kicked off Tuesday! It's a free nine-day festival celebrating the bicentennial of our National Anthem.

Linh Bui has more on a unique event at Fort McHenry that let thousands of Marylanders make history.

This living flag took a lot of planning and patience but the final result was truly spectacular.

They came to Fort McHenry from across Maryland.

"It feels great to be here because I get to celebrate the Star-Spangled Banner anniversary with a lot of people," one little girl said.

There were about 7,000 students wearing red, white and blue ponchos. They carefully found their spots.

"We're the stars on the flag!" said one child.

Once everyone was in place, Sky Eye Chopper 13 had the best view of the living flag, celebrating the bicentennial of the Star Spangled Banner. And these kids are continuing a tradition. They actually did the living flag at Fort McHenry in 1914 for the Star Spangled Banner's centennial.

Myrtle Sanders was there as a baby. Now 100 years old, she's part of history again.

"It was wonderful and inspiring and it was an honor to be here," she said.

As Governor Martin O'Malley sang the song we're celebrating, it was a moment of reflection for the crowd.

"It brings back what they did for us, for our freedom," another girl said.

"It's a symbol. It's all a symbol of living in America," a little boy said.

Half the student participants came from Baltimore. The rest came from across Maryland. And they're all now a part of history.

The living flag was streamed live on Youtube for a global experience.

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