Listen to this articleOne day each summer, Utah’s queer community floods Lagoon theme park with red. Members of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters will take over the park for the QSaltLake Day at Lagoon this year on Sunday, Aug. 13.
The event attracts hundreds of people each year, possibly as many as 2,000. Supporters are encouraged to wear red shirts and stop by the QSaltLake pavilion — the Honey Locust Pavilion— for a group photo at 4 p.m. and to mingle with other queers and allies. The pavilion is open the entire day and is a popular place to have lunch, take a break, and mingle with the Matrons of Mayhem. The event is also sponsored by Club Try-Angles, which will open at 6 p.m. that day so employees can join in the festivities.
QSaltLake Lagoon Day is open to all participants, and there will also be many people who are not aware of the day, but the overall atmosphere is very open and accepting.
“I couldn’t believe it. I saw two cute young guys eating cotton candy, wearing matching red T-shirts and holding hands, walking through the park. It was a life-changer for me, and I’ll never forget how happy they looked,” said Tyler Bennett after one year’s event.
Lagoon is Utah’s largest amusement park, with ten large roller coasters, 38 carnival games, and two original shows. It also has a large water park, Pioneer Village, and a connected RV park. It was founded in 1886 and is located in Farmington.
The park is owned by the Freed Family. Robert Freed was a civil rights activist, and Lagoon set the stage for racial inclusion when it officially desegregated in the 1940s, and many other public venues followed. He was honored in the 1960s by the NAACP for his work.
This year, Lagoon is scheduled to open its next in-house coaster creation after seven years of construction. It has already been named one of the 10 most anticipated new theme park rides for 2023 by coaster enthusiasts.
Primordial’s mysterious mountain will house what the park calls a “one-of-a-kind interactive coaster,” though such a combination has been done before with Wonder Mountain’s Guardian at Canada’s Wonderland. Details are still scarce about the ride experience, and the park hasn’t even released official photos of the ride to the press.
A discount code for online ticket purchasing will be available at the end of July and will save $28 from the regular day pass price,
For more information about the park, go to LagoonPark.com. For more information about the QSaltLake Lagoon Day, see our Facebook Event.
