Don't worry, the calendar is right.

The state's two largest parties are honoring the nation's birthday on the wrong day.

Both the Stadium of Fire in Provo and the Freedom Blast in Salt Lake City are on July 2 this year.

Asked why, event planners point to ticket sales and stadium scheduling.

"It is our nation's birthday, but a show like this costs a lot of money," said Brad Pelo, trustee of America's Freedom Foundation and planner for Provo's Stadium of Fire.

Also, LaVell Edwards Stadium, the Stadium of Fire's venue, allows only religious events on Sundays and Mondays. (The stadium is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

Pelo calls the rule a "mixed blessing."

"We've just heard again and again from people that they don't want to come to a Stadium of Fire followed by a work day," he said. Often, attendees of either event don't get home until after midnight because of traffic.

John Whittaker, producer for the Freedom Blast at the U., is glad that event is on a Saturday. This is the first year of the Freedom Blast, and Whittaker says he will always try to keep it on a weekend night as much as possible, maybe even next year when the Fourth falls on a Tuesday.

Stadium scheduling also presented problems for Freedom Blast planners. Whittaker said they had to negotiate dates with headliner Kelly Clarkson. This year, Independence Day was out of the question because Real Salt Lake had already scheduled a home game.

When asked if the two cities had planned events on the same night to compete with each other, Stadium of Fire planners firmly denied it.

"If someone chose to copy someone, it would be the reverse," Pelo said.

As a former planner for the Stadium of Fire, Whittaker is familiar with the BYU stadium rules and knew Provo's event would be on a Saturday.

He says competition with Stadium of Fire was "not necessarily" the reason for scheduling Freedom Blast on Saturday, but religion did come into play for many members of the event's large cast.

"The ideal situation is to have a dress rehearsal the night before," Whittaker explained. Had the event been scheduled for Monday the Fourth, it would've meant a Sunday night dress rehearsal for cast members, many of whom are members of the LDS Church, he said, "and I'm against that."

Several cities around Utah are using the extended weekend to have an extended party. Centerville, Clearfield, West Jordan and Tooele are a few of the many holding events on both Saturday and Monday.

North Salt Lake always has its fireworks show on July 3 to avoid competition with Provo and Salt Lake City, event planner George Watanabe said. This year was no different, and when it came time to choose a date, they chose July 2 because July 3 was a Sunday and they assumed the larger cities would choose the Fourth.

"Knowing what I know now, I think I could easily have talked the city into doing it on the Fourth," Watanabe said.

For several city event planners, having their event on any day except the traditional anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was out of the question.

"We celebrate July Fourth," said Dave Price, Layton's event planner.

Salt Lake City's events manager Tyler Curtis agreed. "It's the Fourth of July. We'll celebrate it on the Fourth of July."

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E-mail: nandrews@desnews.com