Opening and closing ceremonies

Who does what

Scout MC

A scout from the den on duty. Calls every command and sets the pace. Older scouts take the pack meeting, denners lead their own dens.

Color guard

Two to four scouts who carry and post the flags. One den takes it each meeting.

Cubmaster and den leaders

Back the MC up with quiet prompts, handle announcements, and give the Cubmaster's Minute. Otherwise the scouts run it.

Pack meeting

Opening ceremony

Led by a scout. Runs about four minutes: flags, Pledge, Oath, Law, and straight into the program.

1. The den on duty supplies a Scout MC and a color guard of two to four scouts. Hand the MC a printed copy of these lines before the meeting starts.
2. Set up before scouts arrive: US flag and pack flag in their stands at the front.
3. Scout MC “Pack 39, please rise.”
4. Wait for the room to stand and quiet down. Do not talk over it.
5. Scout MC “Color guard, attention. Color guard, advance.”
6. Color guard walks to the flags, US flag carrier on the right, and takes position facing the pack.
7. Scout MC “Color guard, post the colors.”
8. Flags are placed in the stands. Color guard steps back one pace.
9. Scout MC “Scout salute. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.”
10. Everyone “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
11. Scout MC “Two.”
12. "Two" is the command to drop the salute. Hands come down together.
13. Scout MC “Cub Scout sign up. Please join me in the Scout Oath.”
14. Everyone “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
15. Scout MC “And the Scout Law.”
16. Everyone “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”
17. Scout MC “Sign down. Color guard, dismissed. Pack 39, be seated.”
18. An adult stands a step behind the MC and prompts quietly if a line goes missing. Do not take the microphone back. A scout getting through it in their own voice is the whole point.

Den meeting

Short den opening

1. For a den meeting with no flag ceremony. Led by the denner, the scout whose turn it is to lead the den. Takes about one minute.
2. Denner “Den, circle up. Cub Scout sign up.”
3. Denner “Scout Oath, together.”
4. Everyone “On my honor I will do my best ...”
5. Denner “What is the Cub Scout motto?”
6. Everyone “Do your best!”
7. Denner “Sign down.”
8. Den Leader “Thank you, denner. Here is what we are doing tonight.”
9. Rotate the denner every month or so. Younger scouts can lead the same lines with an older scout standing beside them.

Pack meeting

Closing ceremony

Announcements, the Cubmaster's Minute, retiring the colors, and the living circle to send everyone home. The scout MC calls all of it.

1. Start the closing while scouts still have energy left, not after they have lost the room. Aim for five minutes.
2. Scout MC “Pack 39, gather in.”
3. Announcements come from the adults: next meeting, upcoming campout, anything families need to bring. Keep it to three items and put the rest in the newsletter.
4. Scout MC “Cubmaster, would you give us the Cubmaster's Minute?”
5. The Cubmaster's Minute is the one speaking part that stays with an adult. About sixty seconds, tying the night to one point of the Scout Law. Example: "Tonight I watched Alex hold the door for every family carrying a pinewood derby car. That is what helpful looks like. Nobody asked him."
6. Scout MC “Please rise. Color guard, attention.”
7. Scout MC “Color guard, retrieve the colors.”
8. Color guard takes the flags from the stands and faces the pack.
9. Scout MC “Scout salute.”
10. Scout MC “Color guard, retire the colors.”
11. Color guard carries the flags out of the room or to the storage rack.
12. Scout MC “Two. Let us close with the living circle.”
13. Everyone forms one big circle. Each person puts their right hand on the shoulder of the scout to their right, then extends their left arm into the circle, palm down. The MC starts a gentle squeeze that passes around the circle.
14. Scout MC “And what do we do?”
15. Everyone “Do our best!”
16. Scout MC “Pack 39, dismissed. Goodnight, scouts.”

Running it well

• Rehearse with the MC and color guard

  Pull the scouts aside five minutes before the meeting, hand the MC their printed lines, and walk the route once. Ceremonies fall apart when a seven year old is guessing where to stand.

• Let them stumble

  A scout losing their place and finding it again teaches more than a polished adult performance. Prompt in a whisper and let them finish the line themselves.

• Rotate the honor

  A different den takes the MC and color guard each meeting so every scout gets a turn across the year. Post the rotation where den leaders can see it.

• Teach the MC to wait for silence

  The Cub Scout sign is the volume control. Raise it, stop talking, and let the room settle. It works better than a scout trying to out-shout a hundred people.

• The flag never touches the floor

  If a flag slips, a scout catches it. That is the whole rule, and scouts take it seriously once you tell them.

• Short beats polished

  A four minute opening that moves is better than a ten minute one that drags. Cut before you add.