Kevin Bacon did a little jig as he walked onto the Payson High School football field. He seemed just as excited to be back at the school where his 1984 hit “Footloose” was filmed as Paysonites were to have him there.
When he first heard about the #BacontoPayson effort, he said he thought, “Wow, this is crazy.” But then, “you were all just tireless, unrelenting,” Bacon laughed.
It was years of plotting and planning by students and faculty to get Kevin Bacon back to Payson, which is found south of Provo, Utah. Prom day this year, Saturday, April 20, fell into the film’s 40th anniversary. It was also important because the school building, where part of the movie was shot, will soon be torn down.
“Footloose” has an “amazing power” to “bring people together,” Bacon told the crowd. The Payson community has also shown some of the ideas behind the movie like “standing up for your own freedoms and right to express yourself” and “having compassion for other people.”
The Hollywood star’s visit is more than just a nostalgic, fun time. It will also benefit Utah communities in need.
Students and Paysonites lined the field as they assembled 5,000 resource kits for Utahns in need. The kits have hygiene items, books, a journal, writing utensils, three months of complimentary therapy through online service BetterHelp, as well as shelf-stable food and snacks.
Bacon got involved himself on the assembly line, and the charitable event was in concert with his foundation, SixDegrees.org.
The final touch in each kit is a note of encouragement so “someone knows that there's a person on the other side of this kit that really cares about them,” said Stacy Huston, executive director of SixDegrees. And that someone is “cheering them on and is wanting them to know that it's going to be OK.”
Encircle CEO Jordan Sgro, one of the Utah nonprofits involved, said the kits and what they represent are “incredibly powerful.” Encircle works with LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, many of whom “come from homes and spaces where they don't have access to this type of stuff.”
Even more than the gift of kits, Sgro said having a partnership with and attention from someone like Kevin Bacon is a “healthy reminder to these youth that you're loved and you're important.”
“That just does a lot internally for an LGBTQ youth that's really struggling with their identity or with their journey.”
Huston hopes what the Payson community did will inspire others. She wants the story to go on as people “think about what they can do in their own community to have an impact and really drive measurable change.”
As the excitement dies down and Bacon leaves Payson behind, Mayor Bill Wright hopes the community will continue to work together, especially as the town of more than 22,000 grows.
“You have a dream, make that dream come to fruition,” Wright said. “And you only do that by working together.”
