America's Freedom Festival at Provo (also America's Freedom Festival or Freedom Festival) is a private, non-profit, non-political foundation known for organizing more than 25 annual patriotic events in and around Provo, Utah. It is one of the largest and longest (usually May - July) patriotic celebrations in the nation. The organization's stated mission is to "celebrate, teach, honor, and strengthen the traditional American values of family, freedom, God, and country." America's Freedom Festival sponsors one of the nation's largest Fourth of July celebrations, Stadium of Fire, held each year at

LaVell Edwards Stadium LaVell Edwards Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the BYU Cougars, an independent ...

on the campus of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. Recent performers at Stadium of Fire include Journey (band),

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

, Carrie Underwood,

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

, and the

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...

. The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

has chosen to broadcast parts of the festival to millions of servicemen and women serving abroad in the Armed Forces for the past several years. The festivities usually include a patriotic service, hot air balloon launches, a carnival, and a parade. Among the most popular events included is a Colonial Heritage fair, in which colonial skills, craftsmanship, and history are taught and celebrated.

Controversies

In 2008, disbarred attorney

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...

was awarded the Freedom Award by the Freedom Festival, despite trying to remove first amendment protections for video games and social media posts. In May, 2015, America's Freedom Festival disallowed the group Mormons Building Bridges from marching in the America's Freedom Festival Parade, after an unsuccessful bid to join the parade the prior year. Mormons Building Bridges was planning a march of

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

military veterans. No explanation was given for the rejection. On July 3, 2017, Encircle, a Provo-based LGBT+ resource center reported that they were no longer allowed to participate in the America's Freedom Festival Parade, despite prior approval. They were told that they could not participate because they were being classified as an “advocacy group." State Senator

Jim Dabakis Jim Dabakis is an American politician from Salt Lake City, Utah. While now a Republican for primary voting purposes, he served as a member of the Utah State Senate as a Democrat, where he represented the state's 2nd senate district. Early life, ...

called on the state legislature to discontinue the $100,000 per year funding the state provided the festival, stating, "to force state taxpayers to participate and support this board, which is clearly over the line, is morally reprehensible."

References

External links

*
Official websiteAmerica's Freedom Festival records, MSS 5999
at L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Festivals in Utah Independence Day (United States) festivals Tourist attractions in Utah County, Utah Tourist attractions in Provo, Utah {{US-festival-stub