Two days left: How to squeeze the most out of the Freedom Festival
A passenger looks at the Provo City Center Temple as he rides the Ferris wheel during the opening day of the Freedom Festival in downtown Provo, Friday, July 1, 2016. The festival continues Saturday and Monday. CHRIS SAMUELS, Daily Herald.
Visitors walk along stalls during the opening day of the Freedom Festival in downtown Provo, Friday, July 1, 2016. The festival continues Saturday and Monday. CHRIS SAMUELS, Daily Herald.
Manu KuPu, right, 5, and Briel Mahan, 4, right, enjoy a ride during the opening day of the Freedom Festival in downtown Provo, Friday, July 1, 2016. The festival continues Saturday and Monday. CHRIS SAMUELS, Daily Herald.
Children perform in a song and dance routine during the opening day of the Freedom Festival in downtown Provo, Friday, July 1, 2016. The festival continues Saturday and Monday. CHRIS SAMUELS, Daily Herald.
A girl rolls in an inflated sphere while crawling on water during the opening day of the Freedom Festival in downtown Provo, Friday, July 1, 2016. The festival continues Saturday and Monday. CHRIS SAMUELS, Daily Herald.
Children perform in a song and dance routine during the opening day of the Freedom Festival in downtown Provo, Friday, July 1, 2016. The festival continues Saturday and Monday. CHRIS SAMUELS, Daily Herald.
The Freedom Days and heritage events countdown has begun with just two days left until the celebration organizers and vendors pack up until they open again in 2017.
With just Saturday and Monday remaining and some preplanning, you can still catch some of the key activities and attractions that began Friday in Orem and Provo.
First, prepare for your environment.
Provo Fire & Rescue cautions those attending daytime events to drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen and use shade — either a hat, umbrella or stand in physical shade such as a tree. Firefighters see a lot of cases of dehydration and heat exhaustion during the Fourth of July weekend. Avoid becoming a statistic.
Second, know your event.
Balloon Festival
If you are early birds and like to see an annual popular event, get up at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday and Monday, and get to 1100 N. Freedom Blvd., Provo. You’ll join 25,000 spectators watching 25 large balloons inflate at 6:30 a.m. Top pilots from throughout the nation come to compete in a unique and difficult event called the Hare and the Hound. Attendance is free and the event lasts until 8:30 a.m. No problem usually with heat during this event.
Freedom Days
Kid and dog friendly, the Provo festival begins at 10 a.m. and doesn’t close until 8 p.m.
“We enjoy coming to the Freedom Days festival every year to see the performances, the displays,” Provo resident James R. Allred said. “There is just a lot to do. It’s fun to people watch too.”
He was with his wife, Donnell, taking a relaxing moment to eat dinner at one of the tables set up on Center Street. That’s right, not by the street but on the pavement.
Center Street is closed for the festival area, promoting safety and more to do.
Brooke Magleby of Ammon, Idaho, did no preplanning for the festival yet her family was enjoying the event. She was helping her son, Lucas Russell, move to student housing in Provo. Freedom Days caught them by surprise but added to the charm of the area.
“We were just talking about how we could move down here. We love it,” Magleby said. “It’s a wonderful cultural experience downtown. The food is amazing.”
Also at Freedom Days are free entertainment, good food, handcrafted jewelry, quilts, a carnival, art exhibits, the Children’s Freedom Village that includes an art yard, Scales and Tails, and JuggleNutz.
According to Freedom Festival Executive Director Paul Warner, they are expecting 100,000 visitors to Freedom Days during the three-day period.
Stadium of Fire
Now in it’s 36th year, Stadium of Fire on Saturday is sold out according to Warner. While it’s grown to become one of the United States’ premier patriotic celebrations, there is more than way to enjoy the event. Thousands find a cool place to relax and picnic on a blanket to wait and hear the entertainment and see the fireworks from a nearby park. Attracting more than 40,000 people, the annual program is televised live to more than one million military men and women in more than 100 countries via the American Forces Network.
Grand Parade
In addition to Freedom Days, there is the Grand Parade, beginning at 960 N. University Ave. and proceeding south to 100 South and then turns east to 200 East. From there it turns north to Center Street and then turns east and ends at 900 East in Provo. Beginning at 9 Monday morning, the parade will draw a crowd of 300,000 people.
Colonial Heritage Festival, Cries of Freedom and Military Outpost
What began as the Cries of Freedom 9 years ago has grown into three different events at SCERA Park in Orem. The Colonial Heritage Festival is in its eighth year and the Military Outpost in its second year.
From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Monday, entry is free. Prepare early as they are expecting 40,000 to 50,000 guests.
The Heritage Festival is a travel back in time at SCERA Park on its east side.
Sharon Heelis and Jolyn Kirkman posed as colonial basket weavers. In those days, you didn’t have the advantages of plastic baggies to contain your items in, Heelis said.
She was the weaver master artisan and was making an egg basket guaranteed to keep your eggs from breaking while going to the market.
Kirkman was her apprentice.
“They didn’t have refrigeration and so they had to go to market probably every other day, and brought a basket to take their goods home,” Kirkman said.
Visit other colonial artisans, exhibits, demonstrations, and join in the great debates, public trials, and storytelling in the Old South Church. There is also an indoor colonial relics museum at the SCERA Center for the Arts.
Children will also be able to play colonial games and participate in the daily children’s chores. Meet famous characters from history like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and colonial military soldiers.
Military enthusiasts can visit the gun displays and experience the cannon firing on the green. Exhibits include the apothecary shop, blacksmith, cooper, broom maker, gunsmith, spoon maker, potter, bobbin lace maker, bee keeper, chandler, wood worker, women’s clothing, home life, frontier life.
On the west of SCERA Park is the walk of United States flags with a name of a deceased soldier and his hometown tagged with each flag. The Military Outpost has all sorts of military machines and vehicles, both ancient and modern for the everyday patriot to see.
- Plan ahead what events you’ll attend.
- Know the what, where, when.
- Watch your water intake.
- Use shade to your advantage.
- Take time to rest and relax.
- Enjoy!