Vote for the jamboree arena show in the Excellence in Live Design Awards

What a crowd!
Photo by Tom Copeland Jr., Boy Scouts of America

Want proof that the closing arena show at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree totally rocked? Just ask me, the 72,000-plus in attendance, or the hundreds of thousands who watched online.

Or ask the folks at Live Design, the creative and technical journal for live entertainment professionals.

The arena show, called “A Shining Light Across America,” was nominated for Best Corporate Event in the fourth annual Excellence in Live Design Awards.

Now, I won’t tell you which event to vote for, but I will say you can go here to vote for your favorite. You must submit a vote for each category for your ballot to count.

In addition to the list of nominees, Live Design has posted a behind-the-scenes article about the BSA event that’s worth a read.

It covers how Boy Scouts of America professionals and volunteers worked with the production company Corporate Magic to produce the spectacular celebration.

Corporate Magic had to overcome the logistical challenges presented by Fort A.P. Hill’s remote location and faced special restrictions associated with an event on an active military base.

Even still, the team managed to put on quite a show, including a performance by the band Switchfoot, appearances by Miss America Caressa Cameron and Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe, and a speech by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Other highlights from the article:

  • The vertical LED screens, built by GoVision and seen in the aerial photo above, are the tallest portable LED screens ever built.
  • The screens were 60 feet high and 18 feet wide and were so massive that “26,000 gallons of water and 76,000 pounds of concrete were needed as ballast” to keep them from falling forward.
  • The fireworks display was the largest theatrical fireworks display ever allowed on a military installation.
  • More than 400 Scouts were used as performers in the show.
  • It took 20 miles of cable to tie everything together.

About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.