ARCO — A local celebration in town known for its parade and rodeo will be featuring a special benefit concert for suicide awareness to help support families.
Atomic Days in Arco will be held on July 18 and 19. On Friday, there will be live music, a horseshoe tournament, and a rodeo.
“Atomic Days was created in 1983. It’s the celebration of the city of Arco. It was the first city lit by atomic power (on July 17, 1955),” said Shelly Blackner, Butte County Clerk and chairman of the Butte County Pretty City Committee.
The committee puts on
the event
, which happens on the third weekend of July.
On Saturday, there’s a fun run, a volleyball tournament and the annual Atomic Days parade.
“In the last several years, we have turned it into what we call our ‘wet parade.’ Halfway through the parade, you’ll hear sirens and banners will be waving. That indicates that the wet parade will begin. And there’s a lot of water,” Blackner said.
There will be a cornhole tournament, lunch and music in the park. This year, multiple artists will sing in a benefit concert to raise awareness for suicide prevention. The committee has teamed up with Bone Road Productions and the FlyLikeMike Foundation.
The afternoon will be filled with hope and healing. It will begin at 12 p.m. at the Arco City Park (Bottolfsen Park). It will feature local singers including Skylar Cook, Paige Anne (American Idol contestant), Morgan and Logan Celner and Keagan Park.
FlyLikeMike Foundation
The
FlyLikeMike Foundation
is a nonprofit and was recently created by husband and wife Mitch and Adella Pearson. They have two daughters and a son. Mitch grew up in Butte County near Arco, but him and his family currently live in Lehi, Utah.
Mitch and Adella created the organization to help others after they lost their son, Michael, to suicide last year in February. He was 16 years old.
Read his obituary here.
“For the past year and a half, we’ve just been as a family, trying to make sense of all of that. We’ve had many opportunities since to connect with other families and give support and love to families who had similar experiences,” Mitch said.
Mitch and Adella learned there is a need for immediate attention following suicide. With the foundation, they would like to develop and distribute care packages to families. This includes symbolic items like a “pocket stone.” It’s smooth and comes in all different shapes. The Pearson family each got one after Michael died. He has one too.
Providing gift cards for meals to families is something they want to do, so families don’t have to think about what they are going to cook or eat during a time of grief.
“We’d like to grow the foundation where we can help kids who have lost a parent to suicide or even siblings that could use scholarships,” Adella added.
Other ways the foundation will help include mental health and suicide prevention workshops, fundraising and awareness events, like the one at Atomic Days.
Michael Pearson
Michael was an outgoing kid. He would have been 18 years old on July 3. He didn’t show signs of suicide, according to his parents.
“With Michael, it wasn’t there. It was out of the blue. He had normal high school stuff. This came out of nowhere,” Adella said.
Michael rode BMX, rock climbed, bouldered, played lacrosse and basketball. He liked cars and video games.
“That was another thing through this whole experience that rocked us in a big way is that we have an older daughter (Lilly) who had experienced some ugly trauma in high school and had been suicidal and we worried about her. But the signs were there, right?” Mitch said.
Lilly talked about her struggles in an online podcast.
Click here
to listen to it.
700 to 800 people showed up to Michael’s funeral and another 100 watched online.
“Part of the impact was that he was well known at the school, and there were no signs. The one takeaway for me is don’t believe that you are going to know the signs. Don’t not have a hard, awkward conversation with your child because they seem fine,” Mitch said.
Adella said it’s important to have those conversations with your children, no matter how difficult it might be.
“Embrace the awkward and ask your kid specific questions. Don’t skirt around it, don’t use euphemisms. Use the word ‘suicide’ or ‘Are you thinking about hurting yourself? Have you had thoughts of suicide?’” she said. “These are very specific questions that are important and hard to ask.”
Mitch and Adella hope to make a difference, while also honoring their son. The benefit concert is the first event for the foundation.
Click here
to learn more about the FlyLikeMike Foundation.
Event Details
Blackner invites people to come out to Atomic Days and the concert.
“I just think it’s a great cause to raise awareness and support. All of the proceeds from the concert will go to the FlyLikeMike Foundation. They can donate cash or via Venmo,” Blackner said. “We are hoping for good success.”
