On Wednesday, the Utah Pride Center, including its new executive director, revealed what some of this year’s Utah Pride Week programming and festivities would entail. The theme for the 2024 Utah Pride Festival is “CommUNITY – Building Unity Within The Community.” Organizers say this will involve bringing all Pride organizations in the state to the festival grounds under “one rainbow.” The Utah Pride Festival and Parade is scheduled for June 1-2, 2024.
“Our goal is to bring everyone to the table to share their ideas, to better understand their needs, and most importantly, to learn how the Utah Pride Center can support their local efforts to spread Pride through all of Utah,” said Chad Call, Executive Director of the Utah Pride Center.
The Utah Pride Center faced scrutiny and an organizational shake-up follow the 2023 Pride celebrations. Local artists and small business owners, many members of the LGBTQ+ community, called attention to the inaccessibility of the pricing of the vendor booths at the 2023 festival, as others criticized the lack of inclusivity of programming. The Utah Pride Center also spent more money on the 2023 Pride than any other previous pride celebration, reportedly running the non-profit into debt. In a statement released September 2023, the center explained that the “Utah Pride Center (UPC) has been mis-aligned with our community-centric mission and lacking in focus and accountability,” which led to the apparent mismanagement of programming and the 2023 Pride Festival “not reflecting what our greater LGBTQIA+ community wanted or expected.”
Following the debacle, the Utah Pride Center laid off staff, including “the Co-CEO responsible for 2023 Pride.” The shake-ups continued, however, as Call took the job of interim director after Executive Director Ryan Newcomb stepped down in March due to health concerns. Newcomb had taken that position just six months prior. As Utah Pride paused programming and pledged to work to regain trust, other pride organizations formed.
SLC Pride emerged in late 2023, posting on Instagram that they were “excited to be planning the Pride Festival our community has been asking for.” At the time, the post mentioned the organization was not affiliated with Utah Pride or the Utah Pride Center. According to their website, that SLC Pride Festival event is scheduled for June 27-30, 2024 at The Gateway.
In their announcement Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the Utah Pride Center stated, “As an organization with a mission to Unite, Empower and Celebrate our LGBGTQ+ Community, one of the best ways we can do that is by uniting our local pride celebrations.” As far as who that will involve and what that will look like, the statement continues, “Inside the Utah Pride Festival located in Washington Square in downtown Salt Lake City, local Pride organizations from around the state are invited to have a table in Rainbow Alley, a centralized location to make introductions, collaborate, network, recruit and share their stories with the tens of thousands of festival attendees.” said Call, “Our goal is to bring everyone to the table to share their ideas, to better understand their needs, and most importantly, to learn how the Utah Pride Center can support their local efforts to spread Pride through all of Utah.”
Utah Pride Festival 2024
As far as this year’s festival is concerned, the 2024 Pride Festival kicks off on Saturday, June 1 with a rally at 10:00 a.m. on the steps of the Utah State Capitol, co-hosted with Equality Utah. The rally is followed by a march down State Street toward Washington Square where the Pride Festival will take place. Festival gates open at 11 a.m. on Saturday and include two full days of vendor booths, food and beverage vendors and activities for the whole family.
This year, the festival entertainment is said to be local Utah talent, with two stages on either side of the festival, showcasing singers, dancers and queer artists from all over the state. A third stage will house the return of Utah Pride Karaoke. The Utah Pride Center will release the full list of performers at a later date.
When: Saturday, June 1, 11 a.m – 10 p.m.; Sunday, June 2, 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Where: Washington Square Park, 450 S. 300 East, SLC
Utah Pride Parade 2024
The annual Pride Parade is on Sunday, June 2, starting at 100 South and West Temple and ends at 700 South and 200 East. This free event begins at 10AM, and festival gates open afterwards at 12PM Noon. It is the same route as Pride 2023. Organizers expect 16,000 participants and over 100,000 spectators.
When: Sunday, June 2, 10 a.m.
Where: Downtown Salt Lake City
Utah Pride Interfaith Worship Service
This year’s theme is “Queering Faith.” The Pride Interfaith Worship Service has kicked off the Pride Festival for more than two decades. It is a time of celebration, reflection, prayer, memorial, music and love as the many faith traditions that are expressly welcoming to and fully inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community come together to “queer faith” in the hope that our arms might open wider still.
When: Thursday, May 30, 7 p.m.
Where: Congregation Kol Ami, 2425 Heritage Way, SLC
Utah Pride Festival Admission
Tickets for the Pride Festival are on sale. Get an early bird discount now through May 15 when you purchase tickets online. To buy tickets, visit: utahpride.org/tix
Early Bird Pricing (now through May 15): One Day Child – $5; One Day Adult -$15
Regular Pricing (May 16 – June 2): One Day Child – $5; One Day Adult – $20
ASL interpreters will be at every event with accessible seating and sections where visitors can see the interpreters. ADA ramps will also be installed at all entrances and multiple locations inside festival grounds to ensure accessibility. UPC has also partnered with the Salt Lake City Public Library to provide a calming space for folx who may need it.
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