November 5, 2026 – Bhutan and Portland, Oregon

Today, the flag of Bhutan flies at the request of a fellow vexillologist who I met at the NAVA 60 meeting last month in Indianapolis. The flag of Portland, Oregon also flies in their honor!

Bhutan

The flag of Bhutan was originally adopted in 1969, based upon a design dating back to the 1940’s. It features the Druk, a dragon from Bhutanese mythology, superimposed over a field diagonally divided between yellow and orange.

Portland, Oregon

The flag of Portland, Oregon was designed in 1969 by Douglas Lynch, based upon a commission from the City Council. In 1970, by Ordinance 130265, the City Council adopted a modified version of Mr. Lynch’s design, which included the city seal as well other modifications to Mr. Lynch’s design. The current version of the flag was adopted by the City Council on September 4, 2002.

On that date, the City Council passed Ordinance 176874. Codified as Chapter 1.06 of the Portland City Code, it defines the flag as follows, “The background is green, symbolizing the forests and our green City. The design includes a four-pointed directional star, formed by the vertical and horizontal intersection of counterchanged light blue stripes, symbolizing our rivers. The blue stripes are paralleled with yellow stripes, symbolizing agriculture and commerce. The yellow stripes are separated from the green background and the blue river stripes by white lines called fimbriations. The white central star is positioned slightly left of center, toward the staff end of the flag, called the hoist.”