This festival is a nonprofit foundation organized for four main purposes: to celebrate, teach, honor, and strengthen the traditional American values of family, freedom, God, and country.
Some of the events we organize are the 4th of July parade, freedom days (three days of food, entertainment, crafts, and carnival rides), Hot Air Balloon Festival, golf and softball tournaments, Baby contest, Freedom Run (10k, 5k), Speach contests, Colonial days, Milestones of Freedom, Patriotic Service (an amazing musical fireside that was headlined with Miss America, Daniel Beck, Joseph Paur and amazing musicians this year), and the Awards Gala. (Just to name a few).
This is their craaaaazy busy month so I am there to help answer the constantly ringing phone and help with random tasks in the office. Also I answer A LOT of stupid questions. (No offense people...but really). I had a women call super angry that she could not find one of our events in the Freedom Festival magazine....it was a two page spread. Annnnnyways...
(I just found out that I get to ride in one of the hot air balloons on Saturday morning and I couldn't be more thrilled...or frightened!!)
I really enjoy being involved and I am SUPER excited for Stadium of Fire this year. It is the biggest event we put on. This year our headliners will be Brad Paisley, David Archuleta, and let's not forget the biggest stadium fireworks show in the country returns with pyrotechnic devices throughout the stadium! My kind of show!
This show attracts more than 50,000 people and broadcasts live to over one million military men and women and their families in more than 100 countries via the American Forces Television Network. Y'all are missing out. Yes, I said Y'all!
I am particularly excited for the Freedom Awards Gala tomorrow night. Each year a handful of individuals are selected who have demonstrated a unique contribution to the cause of the freedoms guaranteed in the United States Constitution and the traditional American vales of family, freedom, God and country. Previous recipients include war heroes, victims of tyranny, and advocates for freedom around the world.
One particular person being honored is Joseph Banks.
Joseph was planning to serve an LDS mission. However, shortly after WWII broke out in 1939 the church stopped calling new missionaries. Not wanting to miss out on his other dream he married his wife Afton in spite of anticipating his letter to join the Armed Forces. Initially Joseph was selected to train as a medic but was reassigned midway through that training to the Army Air Force as a flight engineer on a B-17.
On his very last flight mission (FIFTY missions...the number was raised because the mortality rate was so high among air crews. It was normally 25), just before reaching their mission the lead aircraft in their group was hit causing its bomb bay doors to open, and one of the bombs hit their right wing, sending the plane into a tail spin. Joseph was the only survivor of the crash. Landing in German territory he was taken as a prisoner of war, tortured, nearly starved to death, and forced to march in the dead of winter 800-kilometers. It was a miracle that he was captured because when he landed he was surrounded by angry German civilians with pitch forks. He was a prisoner of war for 9 months with nearly 1,000 other allied prisoners and in the end he and three others were the only ones to escape and survive.
I recently read his book called 'A distant Prayer' and it was an amazing and inspiring book.
Joseph said, "Sometimes the Lord preserves witnesses to bear record of important events, and perhaps my life was spared so I could tell this story now."There are times when an experience seems too incredible that it almost becomes unbelievable by its very nature. This is one of those experiences. His life was preserved so many times in the most miraculous ways that it could only be by the hand of the lord. READ IT!!!!!
I am so excited to meet and hear from him tomorrow night. It is a black tie event catered by BYU so I get to dress up all fancy like. It is going to be wonderful! Pictures to come!
I know what you are all thinking..."but she's Canadian". Yes I am. But I have lived in the United States most of my life and have become extremely patriotic. I love this country and have come to believe that it truly is a blessed nation under God, a promised land. I feel the spirit when the national anthem is played, I feel the power and passion behind the dreams of its founding fathers and their mission in achieving the Declaration of Independence, "...And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance in the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." Call my nerdy but I carry a pocket sized copy in my purse along with the articles and amendments. Its too bad our current leaders do not feel as much commitment and loyalty to the standards that our founding fathers laid out for us in the Constitution.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
I hope to achieve dual citizenship in the near future so that I can say: "I, as one of We, the People of the United States, affirm that I have read our U.S. Constitution and pledge to maintain and promote its standard of liberty for myself and for my posterity, and do hereby attest to that by my signature..."
