Let freedom ring in arenas and barns in 2026
Let freedom ring!
Calling on 4-H Clubs, FFA Chapters, show teams, families, and individuals across the USA to join the Stars, Stripes, and Stock Shows commitment challenge. At major stock shows, jackpots, showmanship clinics, rodeos--anywhere the national anthem is sung, commit to singing the words loud and proud! Encourage your family members and friends to do the same, and let's hear the words "O say can you see..." echo throughout the country this stock show season.
Make your commitment
Click here to sign your club, chapter, family, or individual commitment to complete the challenge for 2026. Let's start each day in the barns with the Star Spangled Banner ringing loud for all to hear! Grab your friends and sing ringside, or pause in your stall or pen, remove your cap, put your hand over your heart, and sing along to the words of our national anthem.
National Anthem Etiquette
- STAND: We stand for the national anthem as a sign of respect for our nation, its history, and its core values.
- FACE THE FLAG: Face the flag. If there is no flag or you can't see the flag, face the singer or face the singer's general direction.
- REMOVE YOUR HAT: This is a time-honored tradition of respect.
- PLACE YOUR RIGHT HAND OVER YOUR HEART
- SING CONFIDENTLY OUT LOUD
Star Spangled Banner lyrics
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
about the challenge
James Colten, Leading the Challenge
This challenge is led by James Colten, Paradise 4-H Club Secretary, 4-H TYLA Ambassador, and Paradise FFA member from Paradise, Wise County, TX. The purpose of this challenge is to bring together 4-H and FFA members, along with our friends and family, to stand proud for our flag and our country.