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Pride Not a Piggy Bank
Editor,
In years passed, I have enjoyed going to Pride Day and visiting with friends, enjoying the vendors and having a wonderful day with my family. We would pack a cooler with sandwiches and Diet Coke, head off to a nice shady part of the park, shop the many shops and spend a lot of money, donating and purchasing items from our LGBT community. Some of us would bring our four legged children as well, leashed and happy.
This year, the Pride Committee has decided that this is no longer about us as a community—but rather us as a collective piggy bank and a bunch of children.
For the first time, an entrance fee will be charged of $5 per person for admission to the event. This money is supposed to be used for The Center’s activities and events. While I understand the need for an admission fee, and respect it, I am appalled at the other restrictions that have been placed on the attendees.
The major restriction this year that bothers me is this: no outside food or drinks.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that our community is diverse and one of the biggest reasons for The Center is to support the disenfranchised, at-risk youth and young adults in the community—those in major socio-economic hardship. It takes a lot for some people to come up with the admission price, let alone not being able to bring a sack lunch for themselves. So, like a lot of people, they will volunteer, then are asked to pay $4 for bottled water and $7 for a cold sandwich plate—at least if Pride is like any other “public” event in this state.
Personally, I contribute each and every paycheck to The Center, through a direct funds program through the U. I have yet to go to any other sponsored event of The Center because nothing appeals to me. I recognize its value, so I continue to support it for the entire community’s benefit. Yet, I will be charged to go to the ONE event that I do find rewarding, and then get soaked by food, beverage and other prices after I enter the gates.
Many GLBT families attend Pride because they do not go to the bars or events—they are busy trying to raise a family in this state—and Pride is usually the one time they can reconnect with old friends. At $5 a head, plus food and drink, that can get really pricey for lunch in the park. Pride Day was the one event where all were treated equally. Now, The Center is looking at them only as a paying customer and not a valued member of the community.
Oh, don’t forget, there are some free events. But only a few. I guess I should feel privileged.
Someone said to me the other day, “Well, San Fran charges $35 dollars for their Pride Day.” That is not true. According to www.sfpride.org, the Parade and Celebration are completely free. “Join us for two days of music, food and fun... all for FREE! No tickets are needed and no one is turned away for lack of funds.” The only mention of money is a voluntary $3 per person contribution at the gate and $30 ticket if you want to sit on the Grand Stands during the Parade. The people who participate in putting on SFPride (i.e., the vendors who make money off of the GLBT community) pay for the privilege to be there. Plus, the people who do the real work, the volunteers, are given gift bags full of vendors’ items as a thank you.
May I also remind the Pride Committee—we are not San Francisco. Thank God for that.
I recognize that Pride takes a lot of money to put on. The admission fee alone should help offset that, along with booth space rentals by vendors, etc. There is no need to exclude people from bringing food. Oh, wait, yes there is—greed. It’s not about security, no matter what anyone says. Years passed have proven that. Let’s keep in mind, most of the people who put on Pride are volunteers, so no one is being paid to be there, and a great many of us who have volunteered at Pride Days in the past won’t do it again because of how we’ve been mismanaged and treated. I am lucky that I have found a Volunteer Coordinator (Teinamarrie Nelson) who fights for the volunteers comfort and care. Not everyone does.
The other ridiculous restriction— no animals permitted, even those legally leashed. For many in our community, their pets ARE their children. Last year, we were surrounded by our four-legged friends and they behaved themselves wonderfully. Their owners cleaned up after them and all was well. The LGBT community is notoriously known for love of animals and as being responsible pet owners. Yet again, the Pride Committee is treating us like a bunch of misbehaving children.
The Center’s Pride Committee has made my decision for me—My family will NOT attend Pride this year—the first time in nine years. Instead, I will host a party at my home to celebrate my Pride—at least in my yard, there is no admission fee and everyone is welcome to bring what they wish—food or furry friend.
Maybe next year, if The Center board actually cared about the community they serve, they would allow people to bring a picnic basket and realize that those who can afford to feed their families will buy food from the long-lined vendors, and those who can’t should still be welcomed with open arms and wagging tails.
So, GLBTCCU, enjoy the financial contribution I make to you every two weeks. I’ve more than paid my admission to an event I won’t be attending.
Connie Anast
Salt Lake City
Self-Sufficient Pride
Dear Editor,
It is encouraging that the vast majority of GLBT Utahns have come forward to support the $5 admission to the 2005 Utah Pride Festival. When people realize the Festival costs $120,000 to produce, most are very willing to help make sure we have a great festival to be proud of in Utah.
Recent attendance has grown dramatically! Knowing that the Utah Pride festival lost money in 2002 and 2003, we requested donations at the gates to help pay for the festival in 2004. This effort netted $1,777 from the 30,000 attendees. Last year, The Center was forced to take funds budgeted for programs and services to pay for festival expenses.
In the fall of 2004, the board of directors of The Center considered several options: canceling pride, scaling it down, returning it to a group of volunteers, or making it profitable.
Knowing that across the country the trend was to charge $10–20 for admission, and that most festivals benefited their own community center, it was agreed to try again, this time with a minimal admission fee.
This year, a major sponsor is returning because the community is helping to cover the cost of the celebration. Many people have said, “It’s about time” and “It’s only the cost of a cocktail on Saturday night or a latte in the morning.”
Systems are in place for those in need of financial help. Several supporters have donated tickets for those financially strapped, or for people with AIDS, and for youth unable to buy a ticket. Additionally, hundreds of volunteers are needed for two-hour shifts and all will receive free admission.
Today, The Center’s budget is lean. Thanks to a great staff, hard-working board members and many volunteers, donations are coming from a diverse network of supporters. We hope this year’s festival will no longer be a drain on our community center, but will pay for itself and possibly provide funds for programs and services that the community uses throughout the year.
Please join us in celebrating our diversity, showing our pride, exemplifying our self-sufficiency, and demonstrating our charity by attending the 2005 Utah Pride Festival.
John M. Johnson
Board of Directors/Treasurer
GLBT Community Center of Utah
Salt Lake City
Constitutional Rights Are Constitutional Rights
Editor,
Aaron Cloward agrees that the U.S. Second Amendment “is still beneficial for protecting one’s personal property and family,” but, oddly, not for one’s self (“Letters,” QSaltLake, May 26, 2005). He wonders “would anyone need a gun at Pride” when “this right was originally meant as self-protection of citizens during war time when public peace officers were very limited in numbers (and probably non-existant) [sic].”
Actually, the founders’ original intent of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was more direct: To protect against violence and against the possibility of a tyrannical government. For citations about this, check out this U.S. Department of Justice legal opinion about his concerns:
http://usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
It’s a dangerous thing to suggest that, because technology has advanced, some constitutional rights are obsolete. That the United States has a standing army and law-enforcement agencies shouldn’t ignore the right of people defending themselves if they choose to do so. We’d no sooner argue similarly that the First Amendment applies only to quills and parchment instead of the more abundant Internet, would we?
I disagree that there is no positive reason for someone to choose defending themselves with a legally concealed firearm at a public event. If not at public events, then where? Crime and violence have ways of surprising us. At a mid-1980s Utah Pride Festival, an attendee was stabbed. At an early-1990s Utah Pride Festival, white supremacists and neo-Nazis threatened violence against several attendees.
No one hopes for violence or crime, but our discussion about the idea about self defense should be about choices; the choice to defend or not, with a legally concealed firearm or not. No one should make that choice for others.
Cloward and others should keep in mind that legally concealed firearms WERE at the 2003 and 2004 Utah Pride Festivals, and probably at the previous ones, too. There’s no evidence that the people who make the choices to carry their firearms at this year’s festival will cause illegal harm or damage, let alone be noticed.
David Nelson
Stonewall Shooting Sports of Utah
Salt Lake City
Las Vegas Pride No Match for Salt Lake
Dear Editor,
My partner and I just returned from Las Vegas Gay Pride and it has completely changed our outlook on Salt Lake Pride. We were upset about the $5 ticket charge and thought we’d try out Pride in a bigger city instead. I can’t tell you how disappointed we were.
Las Vegas Pride cost us $15 for admission to the festival, an additional $5 for the adults only area upstairs (which was boring and a waste of time), plus $5 per drink all day. That was just the festival. We also attended the after-party at Gipsy, the pool party at Blue Moon Resort, the final party at Krave. Each of these events set us back anywhere from $10 to $30 (Krave).
I won’t say that we didn’t have some fun, but as far as we can tell, the only free event was the parade. We felt like all they [Las Vegas Pride organizers] really wanted was our money.
It really gave us a new perspective on our local Pride events. Salt Lake Pride has a larger crowd, more to do and see, and is always more fun than the Pride we attended in Las Vegas. Knowing how superb our Pride is compared to others in the area, we’ll gladly buy our $5 tickets this year to support a festival worth supporting.
Walt Dougall
Salt Lake City, UT
QSaltLake welcomes letters from its readers. Please email letters@slmetro.com or mail your letter to: Editor, QSaltLake, 352 S. Denver St. Ste 350, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. We reserve to right to edit for length or libel. |
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