QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE'S 19TH ANNUAL GUIDE TO UTAH PRIDE

UTAH PRIDE WEEK returns in-person May 29– June 5 with plans for 60,000+ attendees.

Pride Week will begin Sunday, May 29 and culminate with the two-day festival on Saturday June 4 and Sunday June 5 on Washington Square — the Salt Lake City and County Building. Organizers say they expanded the Festival area by 20 percent to accommodate more crowd and more vendors.

“Our co-CEOs, along with the board, have agreed it’s time to return to normal and put on the biggest Pride Festival and Parade Utah has ever seen,” leaders said in a statement. “We will, of course, be keeping an eye on COVID case numbers and taking recommendations from the Utah Department of Health as we move forward. But as of now, the plan is to host the event as we’ve done pre-pandemic with a few changes and additions this year.”

This includes more space with food trucks on 500 South and a Volunteer Village on Library Square. They promise more drink stations, more entrance gates and more exhibitor booths.

Per capita, the Utah Pride Festival is the largest PRIDE celebration in the Western United States.

PRIDE THEME

The PRIDE Week Steering Committee voted unanimously for this year’s theme among nearly 100 submissions from the community:

I AM UTAH PRIDE.

John Johnson, who has organized the logistics of 11 Utah Pride festivals, was named operations director. He feels this theme will allow everyone to determine what PRIDE Week means to them.

“PRIDE means something different for all of us, and that’s the beauty of PRIDE. We want everyone to celebrate PRIDE Week with us and to be able to show their own PRIDE in a way that is authentic to their experience” Johnson said. “Our community is very diverse and we want to allow space for a variety of identities, orientations, faiths, races, ethnicities, and cultures. PRIDE Week is a time to appreciate our differences, and for each of us to celebrate own space in this community.”

Organizers encourage people to share their own stories of pride and use the hashtag #iamutahpride on social media posts so they can be collected a large number that express pride in as many different ways as possible.

PRIDE WEEK EVENT SCHEDULE

Sunday, May 29 — Drag Queen Brunch, Retro Sun-Day Dance Party.

Monday, May 30 — 5K Family Run Run (free), Memorial Day Pride Picnic (free)

Tuesday, May 31 — LGBTQ+ Film Premier (free)

Wednesday, June 1 — Pride Month Flag Raising at City Hall (free), Pride Story Garden Exhibit Opening (free).

Thursday, June 2 — Pride Interfaith Service (free).

Friday, June 3 — Youth Pride, Pride March (free), Rainbow Glow March (free), Rainbow Glow March Rooftop After Party.

Saturday, June 4 — Utah Pride Festival Day 1 from 1–11 p.m.

Sunday, June 5 — Utah Pride Parade (free), Utah Pride Festival Day 2 from 11 a.m.–7 p.m.

TICKETS

Tickets are on sale at UtahPrideCenter.org and include free UTA rides. Online through May 31:

• Youth Day Pass: $8 (Friday Youth Pride $10)

• Adult Day Pass: $12 or $25 for a weekend pass

• Family4-Pack, includes drink tickets: $50 for 2 adults, 2 youth

• Friends 4-Pack, includes drink tickets: $60 for 4 adults

• Flex Party Pass, includes drink tickets: 10 people for $150, 20 for $300

• Rainbow Passes, access to Rainbow Garden, drink tickets, more: 8 days for $125, 3 days for $75

• VIP Passes, access to VIP Lounge, drink tickets, more: 8 days for $250, 3 days for $200

VOLUNTEERS

The annual Utah Pride Week celebration requires up to 1,000 volunteers to make everything possible. Volunteers get free admission, access to the Volunteer Lounge, a free meal, a free t-shirt, and more swag. Those interested can go to UtahPrideCenter.org and click on the “Volunteer” box. to sign up.

GETTING THERE

If you have purchased tickets in advance, your ticket includes a free UTA ride. The closest TRAX stations are the Library Station on the Red Line and the Courthouse Station on the Red and Blue lines. The closest large parking lot is at 400 South and Main St. City Creek Center parking for 5000 cars is free for 2 hours, $1 an hour after. Free on Sunday.

Street parking is free for two hours Saturday, all day Sunday.

ADA & ACCESSIBILITY

Learn more about ADA accessibilty at the website, UtahPrideCenter.org