Utah Pride 2008
I spent the past two days at the Pride Festival in Salt Lake, getting sunburnt and stuffing myself with greasy State-Fair-type food. Saturday I just kind of mooched around, listening to music and surveying the booths. I watched the Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps (ROTC) of Salt Lake perform (righteously outrageous, naturally), followed by a group called Cavedoll (off-pitch, but enthusiastic), and lastly Meshell Ndegeocello (groovy/funky).
Cavedoll
Meshell Ndegeocello
Yesterday morning I watched the Pride parade with Craig (which is when a great deal of the sun-burning happened, for both of us). Some of the floats were fun, but somehow huge gaps appeared between each of the participating groups, which meant we had to stand in the hot sun for several minutes at a time twiddling our thumbs before the next float filled with half-naked go-go dancers showed up. SO HARD TO BEAR, THIS WAITING.
Craig and Me
“Yes, you too can be a lesbian!! Inquire within.”
After the parade, we went to the Festival and hung out with two gay BYU students as well as with Scot and Rob (of UtahCog), their twin boys and various relatives and friends of their family. (I need to learn how to take photos when people are facing me. I’m working on it.)
Alan and Scot
Rob, Scot and Brian
Right before we left, I stopped by the “Gay Latter-day Saint” booth and stuck another pin in the Catania, Italy mission with my name on it.
Anz. Tibbitts
Catania, Italy
Last night I saw Kung Fu Panda in the theater (fun, but nothing special) and Atonement at home on DVD (OMG AMAZING THERE ARE NO WORDS). And then I went to sleep, ready to go back to work this morning.
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June 9th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
My head looks huge in that picture. It’s big, but not that big – it’s just the angle the picture was taken at, I swear! Yesterday was tons of fun. It’s really too bad this is only once a year. I’m thinking this should be a monthly event durning the summer at least.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Maybe we have both learned something from that photo, Craig. I have learned how chubby I am, and you have learned how big your head is.
June 10th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Meshell Ndegeocello! I am so blasted jealous!
June 10th, 2008 at 6:17 am
It has been some years since attending Pride in Salt Lake City. Many good memories there. Continue to celebrate and push forward the cause!
June 10th, 2008 at 11:52 am
AYW, what’s sad is that hardly anyone turned out to see her, because she performed on Saturday and everyone goes to Pride on Sunday instead.
tasithoughts, thanks! We will!
June 10th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Can you move to NC and watch movies with me? You like all the movies I like but that Ben hates — sigh
June 10th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I would love to live somewhere that was not Utah, but the commute to Salt Lake would be heinous. Maybe we should plan a movie party? That would be something to look forward to.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
It’s interesting that Sunday is the big day up there, San Diego’s big day is Saturday. I wonder why that is? You would probably like our Pride celebrations, and we would probably like yours…we are more low key now that we are older. Haven’t been in a couple of years because the temps have been in the high 90’s…not our cup of tea.
June 11th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
According to the San Diego Pride website, last year the parade was on Saturday, which would explain why most people turn out on that day. I guess the question is, then, why is Salt Lake’s parade on Sunday?
June 11th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
When I lived there I Salt Lake City a few years ago, the joke was that it was held on Sundays, because everyone else was in Church. However, many Pride celebrations ( especially the big Parades) are held on Sundays. The Pride parade is held on Sunday here in San Francisco.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Now I’m wondering what the real decision process was when the Utah parade was inaugurated. Has it always been on Sunday? Was there resistance, because this is Utah? It’s just a little weird to have the second-biggest festival in the state happen on a day of the week when, for the rest of the year, nothing ever happens.