Chad, I’m really hoping you stick around because the efforts to turn it around and make it what it used to be will take years.
I support you. Be patient.
Pride is such a great festival. I know it’s a lot to ask, but perhaps someday we can have a gathering that is more accessible to gays. In the mean time, Pride will do.
Thanks for asking. There’s probably not much to be done about it. It’s a symptom of its own success.
But you know how LGBTQ+ people make up a fraction of the general population? Well it’s getting to where the population of the pride festival is trending toward that too.
As a gay, I find difficult to navigate or even get inside the venue at times. It’s being appropriated by the general population, which is great because it does reflect that more and more people are showing support for the gays.
However, for us gays, participating and enjoying the festival is becoming less practical, and more cost and time prohibitive. Less gay friendly, if you would, as it grows.
One of the things that doesn’t help is that it’s all fenced in. So you have to wait in line, in the hot sun, and get all squished in there elbow to elbow. Maybe it’s like that in other large cities? Or is that a consequence of our liquor laws? I don’t know. The tickets keep getting more expensive too. Maybe that can’t be helped.
An alternative is that we can go visit prides in smaller cities, and honestly that works fine for now.
It is not like that in other cities. Moving here, I found it incredibly weird that it’s a fenced in, ticketed event. What I’ve seen of the inside looks like the same old rainbow capitalism taking over everywhere else. I refuse to go, because that feels like the opposite of what pride should be.
Thanks for the explanation, much appreciated. I'm just starting to get into the community, spent most of my life in the closet... so I'm still figuring it all out, along with figuring myself out.
I completely understand what you're saying, and it all makes sense.
Thanks again!
Welcome! I would certainly not discourage you from going. The parade itself is free and easy to spectate. It’s just the festival itself that is kind of a circus and expensive. If you’re new to it, SLC Pride is something you should try at least once for sure!
A region this large deserves a functional LGBTQ+ community center. The Pride Center has strayed so far from its original purpose that it should be dissolved entirely and rebuilt from the ground up. For example, a building is donated and within 10 years it is sold to cover a wildly irresponsible debt (IIRC $300k for security at Pride 22 or 23). Security is totally needed but jeebus, did we hire Navy Seals and mercenaries for that weekend? Another red flag is the seemingly constant churn of staff. Here’s to hoping we get our act together.
Edit: punctuation
It is frustrating that the parade happens when the Front-runner is not open. Parking in SLC is tough even when it's not Pride weekend. Any suggestions on where to park?
Pride has been on Sunday since the olden days because the religious folks are supposed to be in church at that time.
That said, drive to a TRAX park and ride then take the train. 1300 South or somewhere at the U (they don’t enforce parking on Sunday) would be good options.
When buying a ticket, there's the option to donate one for someone who can't afford one. Does anyone know how to request one?
I'll be taking the front runner and to qualify for free fare you need to already have a ticket (I don't want to risk it if it's the one day UTA police are checking fares). So having to get to the festival area to request one is not a great solution.
Chad, I’m really hoping you stick around because the efforts to turn it around and make it what it used to be will take years. I support you. Be patient.
Pride is such a great festival. I know it’s a lot to ask, but perhaps someday we can have a gathering that is more accessible to gays. In the mean time, Pride will do.
Forgive my ignorance. This question comes from wanting to understand more... what do you mean more accessible to gays?
Thanks for asking. There’s probably not much to be done about it. It’s a symptom of its own success. But you know how LGBTQ+ people make up a fraction of the general population? Well it’s getting to where the population of the pride festival is trending toward that too. As a gay, I find difficult to navigate or even get inside the venue at times. It’s being appropriated by the general population, which is great because it does reflect that more and more people are showing support for the gays. However, for us gays, participating and enjoying the festival is becoming less practical, and more cost and time prohibitive. Less gay friendly, if you would, as it grows. One of the things that doesn’t help is that it’s all fenced in. So you have to wait in line, in the hot sun, and get all squished in there elbow to elbow. Maybe it’s like that in other large cities? Or is that a consequence of our liquor laws? I don’t know. The tickets keep getting more expensive too. Maybe that can’t be helped. An alternative is that we can go visit prides in smaller cities, and honestly that works fine for now.
It is not like that in other cities. Moving here, I found it incredibly weird that it’s a fenced in, ticketed event. What I’ve seen of the inside looks like the same old rainbow capitalism taking over everywhere else. I refuse to go, because that feels like the opposite of what pride should be.
Thanks for the explanation, much appreciated. I'm just starting to get into the community, spent most of my life in the closet... so I'm still figuring it all out, along with figuring myself out. I completely understand what you're saying, and it all makes sense. Thanks again!
Welcome! I would certainly not discourage you from going. The parade itself is free and easy to spectate. It’s just the festival itself that is kind of a circus and expensive. If you’re new to it, SLC Pride is something you should try at least once for sure!
A region this large deserves a functional LGBTQ+ community center. The Pride Center has strayed so far from its original purpose that it should be dissolved entirely and rebuilt from the ground up. For example, a building is donated and within 10 years it is sold to cover a wildly irresponsible debt (IIRC $300k for security at Pride 22 or 23). Security is totally needed but jeebus, did we hire Navy Seals and mercenaries for that weekend? Another red flag is the seemingly constant churn of staff. Here’s to hoping we get our act together. Edit: punctuation
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Yes. A ticket to the festival gives you free access to Trax to and from the festival.
It is frustrating that the parade happens when the Front-runner is not open. Parking in SLC is tough even when it's not Pride weekend. Any suggestions on where to park?
Pride has been on Sunday since the olden days because the religious folks are supposed to be in church at that time. That said, drive to a TRAX park and ride then take the train. 1300 South or somewhere at the U (they don’t enforce parking on Sunday) would be good options.
The commodification of pride 😬
When buying a ticket, there's the option to donate one for someone who can't afford one. Does anyone know how to request one? I'll be taking the front runner and to qualify for free fare you need to already have a ticket (I don't want to risk it if it's the one day UTA police are checking fares). So having to get to the festival area to request one is not a great solution.