PROVO — The last time Ivonne Granados attended the Stadium of Fire, Kenny Loggins performed.

It was 1993, the stadium was packed and she was happily sitting in the nosebleed section.

Since then, the 45-year-old Spanish Fork resident has watched the show's fireworks outside of the stadium, but this year she will be seeing them from the inside once again.

The Stadium of Fire is the culminating event of America's Freedom Festival in Provo — a festival that has been going on since before Utah became a state.

This year the headline band is the Jonas Brothers, who recently released the album "Lines, Vines and Trying Times." Provo will be the brothers' sixth stop on their world tour that began in Idaho and will end in Ireland.

Granados' three boys told her she was too old to want to see the Jonas Brothers, but to her, the Stadium of Fire consists of much more than a band playing.

"I love the feeling there," she said of being inside the stadium. "There is a sense of unity, and everyone is happy and dressed in their red, white and blue."

The huge American flag — about the size of half a football field— that has played a role in at least the past 15 Stadium of Fire shows will be retired at this year's event, said Brad Pelo, the executive producer of the show.

"We have a very special somber ceremony that will take place during the show," Pelo said of the flag retirement. "It will be a very, very special moment, and it won't be purely symbolic. It will be monumental."

Rachel Scroggins, 19, of Las Vegas, will be attending the Stadium of Fire for the first time on July 4. Scroggins won two tickets to the show and called to surprise her 11-year-old sister with them Tuesday night.

Scroggins said her sister loves the Jonas Brothers and even has a bracelet with the brothers' names on it.

Scroggins, though, is most excited to see Glenn Beck, host for the event and a nationally renowned political commentator who has his own program on the Fox News Channel.

Local country band SHeDAISY also will be performing.

Pelo said there are still several thousand tickets left, including lower- and medium-priced seats. Most years, tickets will sell right up until the event begins, he said.

Pelo said the headline band is what initially attracts most people to the show, but there is a lot more that happens.

"After the show is over — with no exceptions — the fireworks are the greatest part," Pelo said.

Even for those who have seen the show before, each year brings surprises, he said.

"There is always something new and different, bigger and better," Pelo said. "There are always those moments people will always remember, and we'll create those moments this year."

For information or to reserve tickets, visit www.freedomfestival.org.

E-MAIL: slenz@desnews.com