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Kevin Bacon returns to Footloose roots for a special cause

<p>Kevin Bacon has taken a step back in time to return to the Utah high school where the 1984 movie <em>Footloose</em> was filmed. </p> <p>Students at Payson High School launched the #BacontoPayson social media campaign several months ago in an attempt to get the Hollywood legend to attend the school's final prom. </p> <p>The high schoolers recreated movie scenes and choreographed videos in the hopes of capturing Bacon's attention, willing him to return to the school before the campus relocates at the end of the school year. </p> <p>The online campaign worked, as the 65-year-old actor returned to Payson on Saturday where he addressed the students and praised their valiant efforts to get him back to the iconic school, but not before striding onto the stage while the iconic song <em>Footloose</em> blared through the grounds. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6CNgyNJOrk/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6CNgyNJOrk/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by SixDegrees.org (@sixdegreesofkb)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"When I first heard about this Bacon to Payson thing, I was like, 'Wow, this is crazy.' But you were all just tireless," Bacon said in his speech on the school's football field on Saturday, according to <em><a title="" href="https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-front/kevin-bacon-returns-to-payson-high-on-prom-night-for-40th-anniversary-of-footloose/" target="" rel="">ABC7</a></em>. "You talked me into it."</p> <p>As part of Payson High School's effort to get Bacon back on campus, they pledged to create 5000 essential resource kits to help his <a href="https://www.sixdegrees.org/footloose" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sixdegrees.org</a> foundation, which benefits underserved and under-resourced communities.</p> <p>The organisation has a goal of packing and distributing up to 40,000 kits as part of its "Footloose40" initiative, which marks the 40th anniversary of the film's release. </p> <p>In his speech on Saturday, Bacon thanked the students for "turning what could be just a movie star coming back to get a pat on the back into something really positive."</p> <p>Bacon was awarded with an honorary Payson High School diploma, posed for photos with students and even swung by his locker during his visit during his visit.</p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok / Paramount Pictures</em></p>

Movies

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Teen mum takes her one-year-old son as her date to prom

<p>A teenage mother has gone viral after she made the very sweet decision to take her one-year-old son to her prom as her date.</p> <p>Melissa McCabe, 16, was unable to find a babysitter to look after her son, Arthur, on the night of her senior prom. </p> <p>So instead, she shared a video to TikTok of her and Arthur dressed in their finest outfits to attend the dance together. </p> <p>She captioned the video, "Everyone going to prom with their boyfriend whereas I took my biggest blessing."</p> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="border-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px; max-width: 100%; outline: none !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7115346713434410246&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40melissaabby14%2Fvideo%2F7115346713434410246%3Fis_copy_url%3D1%26is_from_webapp%3Dv1%26refer%3Dembed%26referer_url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%252F%26referer_url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%252Ffemail%252Farticle-11008771%252FTeenage-mother-takes-toddler-prom-date.html%26referer_video_id%3D7115346713434410246&amp;key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"> </div> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;">The video, which has racked up over 1.6 million views, has been inundated with positive comments from social media users who praised Melissa for being the "best mother" and called Arthur "the cutest".</div> <p>Despite the influx of supportive comments, not all the messages Melissa received through pregnancy and motherhood have been so positive. </p> <p>She told the <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/teen-mum-who-took-toddler-24472549" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Liverpool Echo,</a> "When I found out I was pregnant obviously I was really young. It was hard because everyone told me I was ruining my life and I wasn’t going to get my GCSEs. So many people make comments when I’m out with him."</p> <p>"Often people think he’s my little brother and when I tell them he’s mine their attitude completely changes. Older people especially find it disgusting because obviously their way was to get married first and then have kids."</p> <p>Melissa, who has finished her GCSEs and will be starting college to study heath and social care, wants to break the stigma of teenage pregnancies and being a young single mother. </p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Family & Pets

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DJ slammed for playing offensive song to disabled prom queen

<p>A DJ has faced major backlash online after playing Ed Sheeran’s hit single “thinking out loud” as a handicapped prom queen took to the dance floor in her wheelchair.</p> <p>The opening line of the song being “when your legs don’t work like they used to before” was played for Sarah – who was in her wheelchair set to dance with the prom king. Things certainly turned awkward as those in the crowd gasped.</p> <p>Sarah Mendenhall, 23, suffers from a rare neurological condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), which causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis, was crowned as prom queen at her school dance when the unfortunate incident took place.</p> <p>A video posted to TikTok by classmate Celeste Orozco showed the two standing in the center of the dance floor while someone placed crowns on their heads; but when the song came on, many people at the event became uncomfortable.</p> <p>Numerous onlookers in the crowd showed their discomfort by letting out gasps and yelling at the DJ, whose identity remains unknown.</p> <p>'This would haunt me the rest of my life if I were the DJ,' Celeste captioned the clip, which has been viewed more than 17 million times.</p> <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@celesteiliana__/video/7114819205861608747" data-video-id="7114819205861608747"> <section><a title="@celesteiliana__" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@celesteiliana__" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@celesteiliana__</a> a prom queen crowning moment to remember <a title="fyp" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#fyp</a> <a title="foryoupage" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryoupage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#foryoupage</a> <a title="highschool" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/highschool" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#highschool</a> <a title="promqueen" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/promqueen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#promqueen</a> <a title="♬ original sound - Celeste Orozco" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7114819186958715694" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound - Celeste Orozco</a></section> </blockquote> <p>However, Sarah wants everyone to know that she wasn't offended by the song choice.</p> <p>'Hey everyone so this is me,' she wrote in the comment section of the viral clip. 'I found it really funny and ironic.'</p> <p>She added that she 'didn’t know what was playing until way after' because she was so focused on trying to 'dance.'</p> <p>Celeste added, 'We had a great prom night and a good laugh about it the next day.'</p> <p>It appeared that Sarah, who was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in October 2016, had an amazing night despite the mishap, posting a clip of herself spinning around in the wheelchair on the dance floor to her own TikTok account, writing, 'Just making a core memory. Thats all.'</p> <p><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Body

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Teen makes prom dress out of Harry Potter series

<p dir="ltr">A high school student has used pages from the Harry Potter book series to make a very different prom dress.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hailey Skoch created the gown from the popular books, saying the idea came to her after seeing a similar concept online.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 18-year-old spent a total of four days carefully crafting her beautiful dress which, instead of turning pages, will certainly turn heads. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I really wanted to do something more unconventional, and I’ve been obsessed with Harry Potter forever,” she told ArkTimes.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I love to read. So I threw some stuff together and decided to make it a ballgown.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She said it really helped to have the series playing in the background while she worked.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hailey explained the reasoning behind using the Harry Potter books, which she said were the “books of my childhood” and brought her peace during her parent’s divorce.</p> <p dir="ltr">Come the day of the prom, Hailey’s dress certainly had heads turning to take a peek at the book dress.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was completely insane because I just kind of entered and everyone was kind of doing their own thing. One person saw me, and then another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was almost creepy in sync, everyone’s heads just turned. It was the craziest feeling I’ve ever had.”</p> <p dir="ltr">After sharing photos of her dress online, Hailey was headhunted by several designers and photographers who wanted to get their hands on it. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I was this shy, nerdy, geeky kid that was looking for some magic in my life,' she said. '[These books were] just such an inspiration at a time when I was so vulnerable and needed it most... I have such a great love for these books.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Books

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Orchestra of Ukrainian refugees to “honour the dead” at UK BBC Proms

<p dir="ltr">The BBC Proms is welcoming a special act this year, as an orchestra of Ukrainian refugees and Ukrainian musicians are expected to take centre stage.</p> <p dir="ltr">The newly-formed Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra was added to the programme of classical music “at the 11th hour”, Proms director David Pickard said, per the <em><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-61215906" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think sometimes you can feel rather powerless if you’re involved in the cultural world when a huge event like this war is going on, and this is a marvellous way to support the country and celebrate the power of music to cross divides,” he said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-afb06beb-7fff-1e4c-0243-bb5b864ee854"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The Ukrainian government has even granted an exemption to military-age male musicians so they can leave the country and play in the orchestra.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I’m so proud that the formation of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UkrainianFreedomOrchestra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UkrainianFreedomOrchestra</a> has been announced. Formed with leading Ukrainian musicians from inside and outside of Ukraine, we will assemble in Warsaw in July for 10 days of intensive rehearsals, before embarking on an 11 city tour. <a href="https://t.co/2Y7gc83DG3">pic.twitter.com/2Y7gc83DG3</a></p> <p>— Keri-Lynn Wilson (@kerilynnwilson) <a href="https://twitter.com/kerilynnwilson/status/1518934836249088002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lyn Wilson said the orchestra - which has been her brainchild - would “honour those who have died” in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I wanted to bring the best orchestral musicians of Ukraine together, from both inside and outside of their country, in a proud display of artistic unity,” she said in a statement announcing their tour, which will take them across Europe and on to the United States.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The tour is an expression of love for their homeland and to honour those who have died and have suffered so much.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Their inclusion comes as the Proms returns to the Royal Albert Hall for its first full-scale season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 3,000 musicians expected to perform across 84 concerts over eight weeks.</p> <p dir="ltr">With a programme including Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Seventh Symphony and aria Abscheulicher! from Beethoven’s Fidelio which calls for humanity and peace in the face of violence, it’s easy to see why Mr Pickard predicts it will be a powerful and cathartic performance.</p> <p dir="ltr">Funds raised from the tour, which runs from July 28 until August 20, will be used to support Ukrainian artists according to a <a href="https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/ukrainian-freedom-orchestra-formed-to-tour-europe-and-u.s.-this-summer-in-artistic-defense-of-their-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the Metropolitan Opera.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Music can be a powerful weapon against oppression,” Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera’s general manager, and Waldemar Dabrowski, the director of the Teatr Wielki-Polish National Opera, said in a joint statement.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This tour is meant to defend Ukrainian art and its brave artists as they fight for their freedom of their country.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a24c6067-7fff-3838-c208-035bab143706"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @kerilynnwilsonmaestro (Instagram)</em></p>

Caring

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Grandson takes grandma to prom

<p>Seventeen-year-old Stephen Virgil asked his 91-year-old grandma to accompany him as his date to his prom at Stafford High School in Virginia.</p> <p>Earlier this year, his grandma, Jarman, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and doctors said she could only have a few more months left to live.</p> <p>Stephen decided to make the days ahead as special as he could for his grandma, who calls him “my boy”.</p> <p>“I wanted to bring my grandmother to prom because I wanted to do something special for her,” Stephen told HuffPost. “Plus, she never went to her own in high school.” </p> <p>Once Stephen and his mum secured permission from the school’s principal, Jarman arrived at prom for the first time wearing a blue dress she selected because it matched her grandson’s vest and bow tie.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="499" height="250" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/37750/in-text-1_499x250.jpg" alt="In Text 1 (11)"/></p> <p>The prom also fell on the eve of Jarman’s 92<sup>nd</sup> birthday which made the celebration even more special.</p> <p>When the pair arrived at the school prom, the school’s principal and faculty presented Jarman with a special sash and crown.</p> <p>Stephen also arranged with the DJ to play one of his grandma’s favourite songs “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.</p> <p>“She almost had me crying as she was singing it along with me while we were dancing,” he said.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/37751/in-2_500x375.jpg" alt="In 2"/></p> <p>“As far as the evening went, we had a great time together. I won’t forget that night with my grandmother.”</p> <p>Stephen’s mum said the loving gesture wasn’t out of character for her son.</p> <p>Before prom, Stephen also took his grandma to Florida through Dream Foundation which grants wishes for terminally-ill adults in the US.</p> <p>“He also mentioned that he would like to take her to Virginia Beach for a weekend and to Hershey, Pennsylvania,” his mum said. “He’s a very loving young man and this makes me especially proud of him.” </p> <p><em>Image credit: Pam Virgil</em></p>

Caring