She watched the pyrotechnics, cowering inside the car.
"Fireworks scare me so badly," Cyrus said Monday during a telephone interview. "On my concert tour, anytime [stage pyrotechnic devices] goes off, I'm, like, crossing my fingers. I really don't like it, but I liked going to the fireworks show."
But that fear won't stop her from being in the middle of one of Utah's largest fireworks shows Friday. Cyrus, the star of Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," is the headliner at Stadium of Fire. She'll share the stage with Blue Man Group and Glenn Beck, the conservative talk-show host.
Created by Alan Osmond in 1980 as a community celebration, Stadium of Fire has grown into a program that is carried around the world on Armed Forces Network. In the past, it has attracted such acts as Bob Hope, Huey Lewis and The News, The Beach Boys, Martina McBride and "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks.
Brad Pelo, the show's executive producer, said in an earlier interview that Cyrus is the show's biggest-name act - so big that she set a record for selling out Stadium of Fire tickets. Fans and scalpers snatched up tickets within two hours after going on sale.
Cyrus said deciding to come to Provo for the holiday wasn't too hard, even with the option of going to see her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, perform at Pearl Harbor.
"Anytime I can do a show, I'm like so totally excited," Cyrus said. "It's going to be so much fun. I can't think of anything better to do."
Beck is making his second appearance, and Pelo said earlier that Beck has expressed an interest in coming - as long as organizers will have him. Stadium of Fire will be the second event that Beck has participated in as part of this year's festival. On Sunday, he spoke at the patriotic fireside in the Brigham Young University Marriott Center, telling the 17,000 attendees that while times are bad, America is still a special place.
"We are the United States of America. We can solve any problem," Beck said Sunday. "But not in Washington. The answer never comes from Washington."
dmeyers@sltrib.com
* Wednesday-Saturday: Colonial Days, Center Street, between University Avenue and 400 East. Live demonstrations of Colonial-era crafts and Revolutionary War-era firearms. Starts at 10 a.m. each day.
* Thursday-Saturday: Balloon Fest, 1100 N. Freedom Blvd., Provo. Starting at 6:30 a.m., 25 hot-air balloon pilots will inflate their crafts and participate in a "Hare and Hound" race around Utah Valley. Spectators can wander among the balloons before takeoff.
* Friday: Grand Parade, 9 a.m. It travels down University Avenue to 100 South, then heads east to 200 East, and north to Center Street, where it ends at the corner of Center Street and 900 East.
* Friday: Stadium of Fire, 8 p.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This year's event features Miley Cyrus and The Blue Man Group, with fireworks afterward.
