The first-ever iteration of SLC Pride, the two-day festival that has been described as a ”grassroots” event with a focus on local LGBTQ+ organizations, kicked off Saturday afternoon with live music, lots of color and cross-generational optimism.
People walked around The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday with their respective identity pride flags draped around their shoulders. They wore colorful shirts and donned face paint, and looked happy, even in the summer heat.
At 3 p.m. on the dot, a long line of people were standing outside the south side entrance, despite some confusion on how to get in. Once inside, they made their way down the cobblestones of Rio Grande Street in The Gateway, hearing a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Members of The Lavender Menaces perform at the first SLC Pride, at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, on June 29, 2024.
The song was being performed by the Lavender Menaces, a queer brass collective, on the main stage. One could turn around and spot a few drag queens walking through the street, dressed up and beaming. A few times, other attendees stopped them in admiration. “You look amazing,” someone called out.
Walking further into SLC Pride, one could spot organizations and people involved in Utah’s LGBTQ community, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and Utah Aids Foundation Legacy Health.
Tara Lipsyncki, owner of the Provo LGBTQ+ bookstore and gathering space Mosaics, performed three different drag story time readings on Saturday. At their booth, she sold books on a pay-what-you-can model.
At first, Lipsycnki said she felt “trepidatious” of SLC Pride, out of worry that the community would face a “Pride against Pride situation” — a feeling that this weekend’s event was in competition with the longstanding Utah Pride Festival held earlier this month at Washington Square. (The Utah Pride Center, the nonprofit that organizes the Utah Pride Festival, had a table at SLC Pride.)
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Drag queens stroll down Rio Grande St. during the first SLC Pride, at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, on June 29, 2024.
“I met with the [SLC Pride] organizers and the board, and I expressed my concerns and they said, ‘Great, let’s have a conversation,’” Lipsyncki said. “That’s the first time an organization in Utah has actually sat down with me and explained what was happening.”
A passerby who recognizes Lipsyncki, whose events have been targeted by bomb threats and armed protests in the last year, stopped to ask, “Are you doing OK?”
“I love the feel of this Pride,” Lipsyncki said. “It feels local. It feels like it’s for and about the community and it’s not this showboating national corporation type of thing. This is what Pride should feel like.”
At one booth, Dragon Dads were offering “dad hugs” to passersby, with a menu to choose from: “side hug, bro-hug and triple back pat, big squishy dad bear hug and awkwardly long hug.” Behind them, there was a fountain, where a mermaid lounged with a large sign behind her that read, “You are not alone.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Dragon Dads offer "free dad hugs" at the first SLC Pride, at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, on June 29, 2024.
The air-conditioned areas of the festival include the youth space, where white paper covers the walls. Youth were invited to write messages on them. One read, “Make sure to take care of yourself.” In the nearby neurodivergent space, hammocks, books and fidget toys are on hand for those who need a break.
Another area of SLC Pride, hidden away, is the Fashion Fluid Clothing Boutique, run by Meg Orsini, co-founded with Roberto Lopez, who is also SLC Pride’s development director. It’s located in the teen section, and visiting teens can each select 10 free items of clothing, jewelry, makeup and more to take home.
For some of “these young kids,” Orsini said, “this is their only way to be their most authentic self. … Some of them don’t ever get to wear it in public, they get to take it home and wear it in their private space.“
Orsini said she loves being a part of this event, because of the dedication to focusing on the younger generation of the LGBTQ community. “I feel like a lot of the other Pride events that we’ve had previously have been an older demographic. So now it’s just, like, for these guys,” she said.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Shoes are available for young people to try out at the Fashion Fluid Clothing Boutique, a resource for people trying to find outfits that match their identities, at the first SLC Pride, at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, on June 29, 2024.
As teens were trickling in and out of the area Saturday, one tried on a pair of bedazzled black shoes, and looked up with sparkling eyes to happily exclaim “They fit!” to their parents standing nearby.
Orion Enceladus, a co-owner of the fantasy and sci-fi bookstore The Legendarium, said, “We’ve been looking forward to SLC Pride for months now, and it feels overwhelming and beautiful just how many people have shown up to support the community that’s here.”
Enceladus added that he was excited for the free Dungeons & Dragons games they were preparing to host later that day, on tables near their booth, covered in tablecloths taped together to represent the transgender pride flag. “Supporting queer youth just gives me chills. That’s our future,” said Enceladus, who is himself trans.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The entrance to the "teen space," reserved for teenagers in the LGBTQ+ community, at the first SLC Pride, at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, on June 29, 2024.
In the area near The Legendarium’s booth, there are displays on Asian Queer History and Black History in Utah. One table has a Tanabata Wishing Tree, a Japanese cultural tradition where people can write wishes they hope will come true and tie it to a tree. Hanging on the tree at SLC Pride on Saturday were such wishes as “my kid will always feel loved & accepted everywhere.”
As the sun slowly started its descent and things cooled down Saturday, the festival got busier. One attendee remarked, “This is really nice. This is what Pride used to be like.”
SLC Pride is scheduled to continue at The Gateway on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets — $5 for adults, free for those 17 and under — are available at slc-pride.org.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rainbow flags and signs were on display at the first SLC Pride, at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, on June 29, 2024.
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