Residents are encouraged to display the red, white and blue this summer.

Those colors can even be painted by hand.

“Flags Across Dartmouth: Celebrating our Founding,’’ a program sponsored by the Dartmouth Veterans Advisory Board, encourages the public to display flags at their homes. 

“This is a great way to show our unity and our pride and to celebrate our great country,’’Board Chair Chris  Pereira said. 

As part of the program, students in grades K-5 can color a design of an American flag that was distributed through the schools. Pereira noted students brought the drawings home and were encouraged to place them in the window of their homes.

Response to the concept was immediate and enthusiastic, he said. 

According to Pereira, when the board’s vice chair Norm Gunderson approached the schools with the idea, he received approval before he could even finish the explanation.

Showcasing the flag provides “an opportunity to pause and to reflect and celebrate our country,’’ Pereira said. “It’s been a rough year and a half.”

He added that the flags send a positive message in a time when there is “a lot of negativity out there.’’

Displaying the flag also represents a sign of respect to veterans, he said, adding that those in the military serve under the flag and their caskets eventually will be draped in one.

“The flag represents a lot,’’ he said. “Freedom and justice and hope.’’ 

The public is also encouraged to display actual flags at their homes. 

Anyone who does not have a flag can reach out to the veterans advisory board by emailing the town's Veterans Service Office at mbrouillette@town.dartmouth.ma.us or by calling (508) 910-1818.

The completed images may be uploaded on to social media.