This year marked the 40th anniversary of the classic fan-favorite film Footloose. The movie starred Kevin Bacon as Ren McCormack, a kid from Chicago who relocates to a small town where dancing and certain types of music are against the law.
He proves to the powers that be that dance is joyous and essential, and changes the hearts of the people who tried to oppress the youth of the rural community. It’s a fun movie that still holds up and brings a smile to my face every time I watch it.
The movie was shot in a small town in Utah, and it remains a claim to fame for the high school where many scenes were shot. In celebration of the movie’s anniversary this year, the students gave a shout out to Bacon, asking him to return to the school for a visit, and promising that they would help out his charity in return.
The actor responded to the students and agreed to attend, and he headed to Payson, Utah this past weekend. When he addressed the crowd, he said:
“Go Lions! Here we are on this beautiful, beautiful spot on this beautiful, beautiful day. It’s been a long time – 40 years – that just blows my mind, you know. Things look a little different around here. I’d say the thing that looks the most different is me.”
He went on:
“You were all just tireless. Unrelenting … You talked me into it. I think it’s great to see that kind of commitment to anything. I also think that it’s amazing the power that this movie has had to just kind of bring people together, and connect on the basic ideas there are behind the movie – you know, standing up to authority sometimes, and to being forgiving to people who are not exactly the same as you, and for standing up for your own freedoms and your right to express yourself, and for having compassion for other people.”
During his time with the greater Payson community to celebrate Footloose, Bacon was joined by his initiative SixDegrees.org to assemble and distribute 5,000 “Essential Resource Kits” to young people in need of resources throughout Utah, Colorado and Nevada.
More than 1,000 volunteers came to the Payson High football field on April 20, according to a press release, and together they facilitated more than $865,000 worth of product distribution, totaling 121,900 items.
Four Utah-based nonprofit organizations were chosen as beneficiaries: Encircle, Centro De La Familia, Spy Hop and Food and Care Coalition. They each received 1,250 essential care kits and three months of free counseling, the release said.
Bacon said of the event, before he gave a send-off to the high schoolers attending the night’s prom, stating:
“It was so worth the trip. Be good to each other — and don’t forget to cut loose. By turning what could be just a movie star coming back to get a pat on the back, into something really positive. And that’s what we’re going to do today when we build these kits. Thank you so much for your commitment to giving back to your community and to the people you’re sharing this planet with, and I’m thrilled we’re going to be working here together today.”
It was so cool that Kevin Bacon returned to the Footloose high school at the request of these enthusiastic fans, and a great charity was able to benefit from it as well.
