Residents and visitors to Cedar Park’s 18th annual Holiday Tree Lighting and Santa’s Workshop event Dec. 9 also got one of the first chances to see the city’s new official flag.

City officials unveiled the Cedar Park flag during the event at Heritage Oak Park Friday night before a crowd of about 2,000 people, according to a city press release.

The flag design contains a blue rectangle, a green rectangle and a white line with four "X"s. The blue rectangle represents the creeks that run through Cedar Park, and the green rectangle references the city’s natural parklands and growth, according to the city. The four "X"s represent the names of the area throughout history: Running Brushy, Buttercup, Brueggerhoff and Cedar Park. The white line represents transportation, including the railroad that runs through Cedar Park at Bell Boulevard and Whitestone Boulevard.

The white line with four "X"s also references barbed wire, which drove the cedar fence post industry in the city, and it represents the Texas independence and pioneering spirit in Cedar Park.

The process to obtain an official city flag began as a communitywide project in April, when City Council asked residents to submit designs. The city received more than 250 design entries that included submissions ranging from professional designers to local elementary students.

The city formed a subcommittee to identify recurring colors and symbols in the submissions, and the members chose Cedar Park resident Catherine Van Arnam’s design as the basis for the new flag. The committee also incorporated recurring elements, colors and symbols identified in other submissions into the final design,

Van Arnam was honored at the event with a proclamation from Cedar Park Mayor Matt Powell.

“My family and I are so thrilled and honored to be part of this moment in the history of our cherished Cedar Park,” Van Arnam said. “Cedar Park is an amazing place to live, work and play.  I hope people are inspired to remember our history, what makes us so wonderful today, and what will continue to help us thrive in the future when they see this flag flying proudly.”

According to the press release, the flag will be on display at city facilities and at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park starting this week, and the city will also offer community members the opportunity to purchase flag apparel and other flag merchandise online.