This weekend was Utah Pride, which is a big festival to celebrate diversity and focus on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community of Utah. It's been going on for a few days, but it all culminated downtown today. I have lots of friends who are gay and lesbian, and they invited me to go down to the festival and see what it was all about. This was the first time I'd ever been to a Pride Festival, and it was interesting, to say the least.
It all started at 10 AM this morning with a big parade featuring people marching and waving flags.
Followed by more people with flags.
And, of course, Dykes on Bikes, which is a real organisation. There were also plenty of floats featuring go-go dancers and drag queens, but I seem to have missed getting pictures of them.
The parade ended at the main festival site, next to the State Building downtown. I couldn't believe how many people were there. I would guess there were at least 15,000. The weather was sunny and warm, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.
It was a lot like going to a county fair, minus the rides. There were booths set up all over the place for things from AIDS awareness and political candidates to gay sports leagues and, um, leather goods.
The whole thing took up two entire city blocks. We had a good time just walking around and people-watching. It was definitely a diverse crowd. The theme this year was "Pride, Not Prejudice" and I can definitely see where they're coming from, especially in a place like Utah.
It was a fun day, and it was great to see so many people be not ashamed of who they are.
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