Utah Valley Everyday Hero: The man who sparked the Stadium of Fire
Carl Bacon, the founder of Stadium of Fire, gives the opening prayer during Stadium of Fire on Saturday, July 1, 2017, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Carl Bacon, the founder of Stadium of Fire, poses for a portrait during Stadium of Fire on Saturday, July 1, 2017, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Carl Bacon, the founder of Stadium of Fire, jokes with attendees during Stadium of Fire on Saturday, July 1, 2017, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Carl Bacon, the founder of Stadium of Fire, jokes with attendees during Stadium of Fire on Saturday, July 1, 2017, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Many people go about doing good deeds in their families, neighborhoods, organizations and church congregations. “Utah Valley’s Everyday Heroes” celebrates these unsung community members and brings to light their quiet contributions.
When Carl Bacon was a boy in California, he grew up going to firework shows at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
“It was a huge experience for me. I really enjoyed going,” he said.
But Bacon also grew up during World War II. Periodic blackouts in Los Angeles, air raid drills and a weekly accounting of the dead and missing read over the church pulpit was just a regular part of life.
“This frame of reference was witnessing, hearing and seeing things about the threat of war. It was huge. We were losing thousands upon thousands of individuals,” he said. “So patriotism was a big part of my life.”
When he was older and became a permanent fixture in Provo, he wanted that sense of patriotism and the emotional feeling of the rocket’s red glare to be felt by as many as possible. He was well-acquainted with the Osmond family, the founders of America’s Freedom Festival, and Alan Osmond could not be more thrilled for Bacon’s pyrotechnic proposal.
“They picked up on it quickly. If ever there’s a fire in the community, I say, ‘Where’s Alan?'” Bacon said jokingly. “Alan loves pyrotechnics.”
Enter the Stadium of Fire, Bacon’s brainchild, which was first held in 1980.
For 37 years, the Stadium of Fire has combined musical performances with patriotism and pyrotechnics to bring one of the biggest Independence Day shows in the nation.
“It’s considered one of the biggest festival activities in America,” Bacon said. “We know there are other great festival shows out there, but the Stadium of Fire has a great reputation.”
For more than a decade, the musical talent was primarily the Osmonds, whether it was the whole family, Donny and Marie, or even just Donny.
Over time, Bacon said he and the directors of the Stadium of Fire wanted to spring for additional talent to host bigger shows.
“People don’t come to us and say, ‘What are you going to do for fireworks this year?’ I don’t get that,” Bacon said. “We get, ‘Who is coming?'”
The concert has since hosted the likes of the Beach Boys, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley and Miley Cyrus.
But without Bacon’s inspired idea, would any of these concerts have happened? Would the Stadium of Fire be one of the biggest fixtures of America’s Freedom Festival, generating probably the greatest revenue for the foundation?
Ask Paul Warner, executive director of America’s Freedom Festival, and he’ll say that Bacon’s dedication is what makes the Stadium of Fire a festival of freedom and patriotism like it is today.
“He really is committed to the good of others. He wants others to be able to be successful and enjoy the proper and good things,” Warner said. “In some ways, he’s kind of like a bulldog. He’s willing to take on issues and go right after it until he sees that it’s completed and he doesn’t give up until it is.”
Warner has worked with Bacon for years for the festival.
“He’s just been a dependable soul for so many years in terms of ideas and willingness to jump in and help,” Warner said. “He is really a man who wants things to happen that are right and he’s not worried about his own credit.”
Bacon is also known for his work at Brigham Young University and within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bacon was in the development office at BYU from 1966 to 1987, 10 of those years as a director.
He served in the LDS Church as a bishop, mission president, stake president, area authority, area seventy and as the president of the Provo Utah Temple.
As for the Stadium of Fire, Bacon hopes for the show to constantly develop and expand.
“I would like to see it become a household word throughout the country,” Bacon said. “I hoped that it would become an event that everybody would know about.”
The ever-growing challenges Bacon and the committees behind the Stadium of Fire are the expense of the musical talent, not to mention finding talent that are, as Bacon said, “family-friendly.”
Add that to the coordination of fireworks and competition with other concert venues, and it becomes quite the headache, fast.
But these are challenges Bacon said are worth facing.
“It isn’t just a concert. This event covers a lot of elements,” Bacon said. “One of my desires is to have an emotional experience — a feeling of love for our country.
“I’ve always had this desire to make sure we continue to preserve the liberties and freedoms we have.”
