Mark your calendars for Scouting events, including religious observances

As you plan your unit’s upcoming year, you might want to mark down annual celebrations and events.

You have Feb. 8 — the birthday of the Boy Scouts of America. Next year, the BSA turns 114 years old. Check the BSA’s social media for a fun party.

Want to go on an exciting trek at one of the BSA’s high-adventure bases? Online registration for 2025 treks is coming up soon. Registration opens at Philmont Scout Ranch on Oct. 1 this year. The registration dates for Northern Tier, Sea Base and Summit Bechtel Reserve will be Jan. 18, 2024.

Mark down the third weekend in October for the largest Scouting events in the world: Jamboree-on-the-Air and Jamboree-on-the-Internet. That will be Oct. 20-22 this year. These international events invite Scouts to communicate with each other via the internet or ham radio.

Arrowmen should look into going to the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC), the flagship national Order of the Arrow event, which will be July 29 to Aug. 3, 2024, at the University of Colorado Boulder.

If you missed it this year, mark down Aug. 1 for the next Scout Scarf Day, when you can wear your neckerchief whether you’re in uniform or not.

Check with your council for big events, training days and fun camporees that you can add to your unit’s calendar.

If you need help keeping track of everything, use these printable planners, courtesy of Scout Life magazine.

Religious observances

This year, the religious celebrations of Scout Sunday, Scout Sabbath and Scout Jumuah were all held on the same weekend, corresponding with the BSA’s anniversary week in February. Any weekend in February is appropriate for reminding your Scouts to focus on the 12th point of the Scout Law; however, many units choose to reflect on their faith on the nationally observed day.

Next year, the three observances will fall on the same weekend again. Scout Sunday in 2024 will be Feb. 11, according to the BSA’s Calendar of Religious Observances. Scout Sabbath, the Jewish observance, next year will be Feb. 9 and 10, and Scout Jumuah, the Islamic observance, will be Feb. 8 and 9.

Every unit can celebrate these days as they choose — you can attend a worship service wearing a full field uniform, participate in a worship service or conduct a service project for a religious organization. Check with your local religious leaders before making any further plans and, when it gets closer to the date, check with the Scout Shop for official gear, including patches.