Last year, the Beehive Standard Weekly was not kind to the Stadium of Fire. It failed on almost every count to entertain and to inspire. After reading our review, several members on the Board contacted the Beehive and asked what could be improved. Apparently, the Stadium of Fire got the message because this year's event was perfect in so many ways.

To begin, the Stadium of Fire raised the ticket price. Most would see this as a negative, but in fact, it clearly allowed the event to do what it needed to raise the quality of the show. Last year, the show lacked the punch that can come with additional features that appeared in 2007. Interestingly, the stadium was packed to near capacity, so the price did not appear to make a significant difference.

Next, the Stadium of Fire got solid star power and then added and then added again to make sure people were interested in the event. Instead of a one-hit wonder, the event brought in Brooks and Dunn, who have more hits than Utah has arches. They later added youth star power by inviting Corbin Bleu, a Disney Channel actor who had appeared on the hugely popular High School Musical.

For those who love politics, Glenn Beck, a conservative CNN talk show host was nabbed to narrate and host. Other politicians from Utah were invited to participate at various levels.

The show started with a local "rock" band called "politically incorrect" that consisted of the Governor of Utah playing keyboards and a popular car dealer on the guitar. The band warmed up the audience and got the old folks out of their seats.

As is tradition with the event, hundreds of youth took the field to do a mass dance. The difference this time, however, is that they were very well organized and the dance activity was more than swinging their hips and clapping their hands. The youth actually performed a solidly entertaining and in sync dance. They were joined by BYU's cheer squad that did wonderful acrobatics and cheer stunts. The BYU Ballroom Dance Team also contributed with a very competent rendition of the twist.

Everywhere the audience looked there was creative and skilled entertainment going on. As this part of the program began to peak, the on-field dancers were joined by a team of jump rope specialists and out from the side of the field came Corbin Bleu to raise the entertainment value a solid notch.

Bleu would then go on stage to entertain the crowd by singing several upbeat selections for which he is best known. The dancers would congregate at mid-field to cheer him on, just like a fan club. Corbin Bleu and the dancers did their job.

Last year one of the critical errors of the programmers was playing to the TV cameras and forgetting the audience. One event last year was a family contest involving items that could not be seen by the stadium onlookers. This year that mistake was not repeated.

Several entertaining contests and features were done in easy view of the audience. One event was a truck give away that required finalists to throw Frisbees onto a bull's eye. Another event was hosted by comedian Fred Willard who interviewed a man who had a human flying machine. The man then went on to fly around the stadium with his jet pack. These were short and sweet and played to the live audience in the stadium.

As is the course for the Stadium of Fire, there were several touching moments between families and soldiers in the war arena. This was also done with much more discretion than last year and was an acceptable and appropriate level of sharing intimate moments with strangers in a crowd.

Half way through the show, many in the crowd were commenting on how well the show was going and how they were enjoying themselves. Of course, the weather was perfect as well, so mother nature was doing her part.

As the show progressed, Brooks and Dunn stepped on stage and entertained the crowd like true professionals know how to do. They were pressed to go through many of their hits, but did so with perfect timing and class. They didn't have a lot of time to chat, but they were there to entertain and they did their job. Last year, the featured artists was neither entertaining nor inspiring. This year there was a world of difference. Though their time was short, they got through a huge number of hits and the audience felt like they had attended a great concert.

As they left the stage, the fireworks portion of the event began. This year, however, the fireworks were presented by Disney and it showed. The music so closely followed the fireworks that the pops of the fireworks were perfectly in beat with the music being played. No detail was lost. The only negative was that the audience was once again showered by paper shreds of the fireworks and ash, but the show was so good that the audience seemed to take it in stride. Next year, however, lawn goggles and hats are recommended where.

One especially impressive moment was when live artists framed a still replica of the raising of the colors in Iwo Jima. The live still artists kept the pose for nearly ten minutes or longer. They didn't seem to twitch as the fireworks and music celebrated the flag. The end of the event joined live choir performance with the pre-recorded music.

Sadly, the very last crescendo fell a little flat as the music and fireworks did not entirely sync up, but the show ended on an impressive showing of quality entertainment that resembled other successful stadium events such as the Superbowl, etc.

In strong contrast to last year, the 2007 Stadium of Fire exceeded expectations and sets a high water mark for this event going into the future.