Utah Pride Festival

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Salt Lake City Library during Pride Festival

The Utah Pride Celebration is a five-day festival held in downtown Salt Lake City in June, celebrating Utah's diversity and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered populations. It includes the state’s second-largest parade [1]. In 2004 an estimated 50,000 people attended, the largest since the festival began in 1977 when the "Salt Lake Coalition for Human Rights" sponsored a three day conference. In 1977, the keynote speakers were David Kopay, the first NFL player to come out of the closet, and Air Force Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, an ex-Mormon who was the first out gay person ever to appear on the cover of Time Magazine. Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons (then called "Gay Mormons United") was also founded during this conference, on June 11, 1977. [2]

However, in 2005, the first year in which an admission was charged attendance at the festival was between 15,000 and 20,000. Some have contributed this decline to patrons not wanting to pay for the festival. [3] Utah Pride organizers, however, argue that 2005 was the first year in which accurate method of counting the attendance were employed, and that the numbers did not reflect a drop in attendance. [4]

Aspects of the Utah Pride include the Parade and Festival, a film festival, Dyke March, interfaith service, 5K charity run and related parties and receptions.

Participation in the Festival cuts across a broad spectrum of Salt Lakers. Past speakers during the celebration have ranged from Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson who was quoted in support of same sex marriage to Rep. Jackie Biskupski the state’s first openly gay state legislator.

The 2006 Utah Pride Celebration is planned for June 1-June 4 in downtown Salt Lake City. Utah Pride is a program of The Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah.

[edit] History

Utah Pride Festival History
Year	Dates	Festival name	Theme	Estimated attendance
1977	June 10-12		Human Rights	400
1983			A Day in the Park
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001	June 7-10	Utah Pride	Embracing Diversity
2002	June 1-2, June 5, June8-9	Utah Pride
2003			Be Yourself Out Loud
2004	June 11-June 13	Utah Pride	Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!
2005	June 8 - June 12	Utah Pride	Equal Rights. No More. No Less.	15,000 - 20,000
2006	June 1-June 4	Utah Pride	Pride, Not Predjudice