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The Gila Valley Temple Cultural Celebration

by Megan

On Saturday night, we finally had the TCC! Daniel, Carter, and I headed down to Thatcher right after school on Friday, just in time for the two dress rehearsals that night. I watched most of the first run-through, and I stayed backstage for the second run-through, when they used all the lighting and video segments and everything (very cool!). Daniel brought me Sonic and we had a picnic in-between the two runs, and we also went and checked into our hotel before the second run, and they stayed there while I went back to the field.

The next morning, we had a rehearsal at 10am, which was very long and HOT! I got to talk to the kids beforehand, which was essential to me, because I fixed a couple of last minute problems in our stake’s dance (we made a huge American flag out of the dancers, and some red and white kids were ending up in the blue section!). Daniel and Carter and I spent some of the rehearsal in the stands (while I took pictures), and some of the time we went down to the grass where there was shade! After it was over, we went and got some lunch and all three of us took naps! I went back around 5:30 to get some of the pizza they were providing for the performers and leaders, and then the three of us went to the field around 6:30 to get our seats. The place was already packed, but we ended up with really great seats almost right behind President Monson!

The show was absolutely wonderful! The kids did a great job, and I think they all had a really amazing experience. As one of the girls in the interviews said, “You don’t usually get to sing and dance for the prophet!”

The next day, on my birthday, the temple was dedicated!

Here are some pictures of the event:

Saturday rehearsal

The opening number, where all the 1600 youth marched onto the field, and each stake had a banner carried by one of the young men:

Our three male elite dancers, doing the gun drill before the Priest/Laurel section of the show:

Priest/Laurel Section: The Priests did a number about the Mormon Battalion, then the Laurels joined them for a flirty clogging dance, and then they all did a lyrical dance about the Honeymoon Trail.

This is our stake doing the clogging number. They should have been in their pioneer costumes, but the people running the rehearsal went back to redo this section, after they had changed for the next number.

The best picture I could get of my beautiful, time-consuming flag formation…the lights were in the way, but I love how the real flag is in the background!

Performance Night

I took this picture right before the actual performance, while President Monson was speaking to the youth. It’s zoomed in, but not much!

Pictures from the LDS Church News article

I am in this picture, because I know where I was sitting, but it’s too far away for even me to be able to pick myself out!

Part of the illustrious flag formation:

Vicky D. in a lift! Again with the flag in the background- love it!

Some St. David kids in the first half of the finale:

More patriotic medley:

And one more of the flag formation!

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4 comments

Top Ten Tuesday: People I'd Like To Meet (Linky CoHost) - Shaping Up To Be A Mom December 14, 2013 - 7:04pm

[…] when we attended conference in SLC, and again when he came to the Gila Valley Temple Dedication/Cultural Celebration, but only from a […]

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Pink Eye, Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Oh My! Walgreens Healthcare Clinic Phoenix - Shaping Up To Be A Mom March 20, 2014 - 11:42pm

[…] Oh, and I was also running weekly dance rehearsals for 250 youth, in preparation for the Gila Valley Temple Cultural Celebration! […]

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Top Ten Tuesday: People I'd Like To Meet | Shaping Up To Be A Mom January 1, 2018 - 9:34pm

[…] when we attended conference in SLC, and again when he came to the Gila Valley Temple Dedication/Cultural Celebration, but only from a […]

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A New Chapter | Shaping Up To Be A Mom October 24, 2018 - 1:11pm

[…] The town of Surprise is very new, very well-maintained, and seems very family-friendly. There is a huge community park with a lake, a library, a recreation campus, and an aquatic center. They have lots of local events, and from what I can tell so far, it seems like the perfect balance of big city and small town life. We will be back in the Mesa LDS Temple district for awhile, but they are currently building the Phoenix LDS Temple, which will be very close to us, and which is slated to open sometime in 2013 or 2014. Maybe I will get to be part of another TCC! […]

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