Star-spangled tanner: Where to wave hello to Old Glory this summer

The flag is waving far and wide this summer.Amid celebrations and ceremonies marking America’s 250th anniversary, the Stars and Stripes take center stage thanks to a wave of flag-centric events, exhibitions and ceremonies across the country.Since 1776, the flag has had more than two dozen makeovers — 27, to be exact — making it a living record of a nation that continues to evolve.

Here’s where to see it, in all its glory, from sea to shining sea.Betsy Ross may be the OG Stars and Stripes seamstress, but Baltimorean Mary Pickersgill’s hand-sewn 30-by-42-foot garrison flag is the banner that inspired the nation’s anthem.In 1814, it flew over Fort McHenry during a British bombardment, giving Francis Scott Key the inspiration he needed to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”The original artifact, commissioned in 1813, is now housed at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, but Baltimore’s Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and Museum, which preserves Pickersgill’s circa-1793 home, pays homage to her accomplishments as a seamstress, businesswoman and philanthropist.“We try to highlight just how much she did for not only her local community and the country, but for us,” said museum executive director Chris Sniezek.“We are still feeling the effects of her impact, even today.”On-site is a true-to-scale replica of Pickersgill’s original — whose imposing size was intended to intimidate British attackers.

With just eight weeks to pull off the project, Pickersgill and her team used more than 400 yards of fabric (including, ironically, English wool bunting) to create a flag so massive they had to assemble it in a local brewery.Over at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, a modern-day Star-Spangled Banner still waves 24/7.Summer programming includes daily flag changes, ranger talks and performances of the quintessential Colonial-era soundtrack by the Fort McHenry Guard Fife and Drum Corps....