Pride Outside of Pride

Every year, Salt Lake City shows up big for Utah Pride Center’s annual Utah Pride Festival. The event, held during the first weekend of Pride Month, is one of a number of well-known and well-regarded Pride events. But, Salt Lake’s queer community doesn’t stop existing after June 30, and community building, activism and outreach last all year. Find here information on four incredible events taking place throughout the summer and beyond that celebrate the best and sometimes undersung elements of Utah’s LGBTQ+ community.

Burning Sissy Valley

Burning Sissy Valley, the name of an annual event and the perennially active group that hosts it, has the mission to “host a pride event that is exclusively centered on the experiences of Queer and/or Trans People of Color (QTPOC) within the Wasatch Front.” The event was founded in 2021 by current Chair and Director Pedro Rico and Co-founder Jared Winn-Taryor after they graduated from Westminster College and sought to create a safe space for their community. “The mission of BSV is to build place-based belonging and social/economic liberation for QTPOC in the Wasatch Front,” the organizers say. “We want QTPOC to feel belonging and security where they live, even if the environment might frequently be hostile.”

“The mission of BSV is to build place-based belonging and social/economic liberation for QTPOC in the Wasatch Front,”

While Burning Sissy Valley originally started as a summer Pride event, the organization has expanded their yearly offerings and shifted their main event to the fall. “At BSV, we believe that community is ever present and should be happening at all moments outside of Pride Month,” BSV says. “We want QTPOC to feel integrated, visible and celebrated within and outside Pride Month.” Outside of their primary event, BSV hosts monthly meet ups called Sissies top tha park and can frequently be found “tabling or otherwise supporting other QTPOC events and organizations,” they say.

Keep an eye out for the official announcement of 2023’s Burning Sissy Valley, set to occur in September, on Instagram @burningsissyvalley.

Crossroads of the West Regional Rodeo

Utah’s Golden Spike Gay Rodeo Association was found in 1979 as, according to its directors, “a group of local, country-western enthusiasts helping out the community.” After a series of starts and stops and name changes, the organization was officially readmitted into the International Gay Rodeo Association in 2016 as the official chapter in Utah.

Utah Gay Rodeo Association Trustee Kevin Hillman speaks to the organization’s importance: “We can provide a safe space where people can learn about rodeo and give them the opportunity to … play in the dirt and have the thrill of competing in a sport that is a huge adrenaline rush,” he says. “We are keeping the history and traditions of the mountain west and what we call a ‘rodeo family’ [alive].”

UGRA produced four rodeos in the early aughts, but the upcoming Crossroads of the West event is their first in 19 years. The weekend will host 13 different rodeo events across two days at the Golden Spike Event Center in Ogden, including bull, bronc and steer riding and a host of roping, speed and “camp” events, the last of which include a drag-costumed race and a goat-dressing contest. Hillman says that the organization is excited to have “people in from all over the country to compete” in this historic return.

“We are keeping the history and traditions of the mountain west and what we call a ‘rodeo family’ [alive].”

With their momentum back, UGRA is excited about moving forward. “We hope to be able to make this an annual event and grow it so that it is something to been seen at and get involved with,” he says. Find information on the Crossroads of the West and other UGRA happenings at utahgayrodeo.com.

Marrlo Suzzane and The Galaxy Band Rock Drag Show

Since first emerging on the scene a few years ago, Marrlo Suzanne has quickly become one of the hottest names in the local drag scene. Chief among the reasons for this acclaim is her series of themed concerts with her highly skilled Galaxy Band that take place at Metro Music Hall. Typically built around a decade—previous editions focused on ’70s rock and 2000s alternative—and featuring a wide array of local performers across four nights in a month, this now-recurring event series is among the most lively and vital in Salt Lake’s LGBTQ+ performing arts spaces.

The main event of each night is a series of drag performances soundtracked to live music from the Galaxy Band. Drag to a backing track is wonderful, but the added vivacity of a live band gives the night a sweaty, teeming energy. Frequent performers include SLC drag royalty such as Seqouia, M’Lady Wood, Veronika DaVil and so many more. A significant aspect of these events is their inclusion of non-drag talent alongside the queens and kings. In addition to the central drag performances, Marrlo invites music artists from Utah’s LGBTQ+ community to open the sets. Previous performers include Icky Rogers, Suchii and Rachael Jenkins.

The next iteration of the Galaxy Band series is currently pending an official date and theme, but keep an eye out for an announcement for a late-summer line of shows. Follow Marrlo on Instagram @marrlosuzzanne for more information and to, generally, take in her beauty, power and poise.

Utah Trans Pride

Ian Gilles, the Founder and Executive Director of local trans activism group Genderbands Utah, started Utah Trans Pride in 2019 after noticing an “unpleasant trend” in Utah Pride events: “There weren’t many trans vendors or entertainers,” they say. They then set up their own “trans-centered festival [that] could provide that safe, community space people were asking for and spotlight the talents of the trans community.” Utah Trans Pride was inaugurally held in August of 2019, featuring performers, artists and food vendors from the trans and nonbinary communities.

This year’s Utah Trans Pride is the first in-person event since that first fest (due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis), and Gilles is ecstatic about the developments the organization has made since then. They point to an almost quadrupled amount of vendors, more entertainment and an increase in trans-assistive resources such as gender-affirming clothing and a “Paying-It-Forward” booth that will sell wares from vendors who can’t physically be at the event as some of the most exciting developments.

“Everyone knows the transgender community is seriously under attack right now,” says Gilles. “At UTP, trans people won’t feel ‘othered’ …  For a few hours, they will get to escape the onslaught of hate in the media and society and spend a fun, sunny day with their friends and chosen family celebrating how truly amazing they are.” Follow Genderbands @genderbandsutah and Utah Trans Pride @utahtranspride on Instagram. For those who want to be involved but can’t attend the event, you can purchase Genderbands’ Pride package on their website, genderbands.org.

Read more on queer events in Utah
Queers in Wonderland: Utah Pride Center’s Adult Queer Prom 2023
Pride Ride Utah 2023: Snow Sports for LGBTQ+ at Brighton Ski Resort