Council Relations

FWIW - when we did it, it was tied to rank.  We also didn't paint the entire face, more put marks on their cheeks.  Basically, we matched the color of the program: Tiger - orange Wolf - yellow Bear - blue Webelos - green & red AOL - green, red, & yellow    

Can't use white-face, black-face or red face.  Why not white-face?  It would offend mimes.  

I am definitely just looking for something short, and just didn't really want to write it myself. I found something I think will work with some minor edits.  Many cultures worldwide have historically used symbolic face painting, including (but not limited to) NA, Celtic, and African tribes. So I don't see any reason why such a ceremony should be tied to any particular culture other than Scout culture. It seems much safer in terms of not stepping on the toes of people whose culture the participants don't belong to, to just make it about Scouts and not about NA cultures. I was surprised to find that most of the scripts I pulled up on the Web were comparing the Scouts to "braves" and the face painting to a NA ceremony. 😕  I want a script because with social distancing it's going to be the parent performing the face painting. I don't want to put the mom on the spot to make something up while holding some face crayons in her hand. LOL! Thanks! I think I've got something now. 

We did it in our pack - but I'll admit, we didn't have too detailed a script. It was normally done at rank advancement.  The Cubmaster would get up with the Scouts, ask them to talk a little about some of the funs things they did.  After that, he'd paint a strip on each cheek - one red, the other green.  He'd explain that Webelos stood for We'll Be Loyal Scouts and that these colors signified their journey on the way to becoming Scouts.  I find the goal on these kind of ceremony is to tie it to the journey they are on - celebrate something about what they earned.  Or, celebrate some kind of future goal - such as becoming a Scout.  I was never one for tying this stuff into NA imagery.  I know some people like the NA imagery, but I also found trying to make a connection like that very awkward and forced as a Cubmaster.  So, I just never did it. In our pack, it took maybe 3-5 minutes to do the whole thing - that's about as long as we could sit for a ceremony. Sorry I don't have something more concrete for you.

Welcome @Armymutt That's a tremendous Scouting background you have.  A little secret I learned along the way is that it's even more fun when you are Scouting alongside with your kids in the program. Enjoy!!