Photo Gallery: Southern Utah Pride Festival

Written by Nick Yamashita
September 18, 2022
The Southern Utah Pride Festival brought people from all backgrounds together to show power in visibility in Historic Town Square, St. George, Utah, Sept. 17, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Southern Utah Pride Festival was held on Saturday with most of the events at the Historic Town Square in the downtown area.

The Southern Utah Pride Festival brought people from all backgrounds together to show power in visibility in Historic Town Square, St. George, Utah, Sept. 17, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

Hosted by Pride of Southern Utah, the festival had hundreds of people present with multiple vendors, which included Zion National Park, resources for the LGBTQ+ community and their families, Utah Tech University, Southern Utah University, small businesses, and more.

One of the booths, Encircle, consisted of a community work of art. The Identity Tapestry is the brainchild of Mary March, an artist based in San Francisco who has received numerous recognitions for the concept, for which she holds the copyright.

The artwork had small knobs tacked on the canvas with statements such as “I am strong,” “I am courageous,” and more, while some other statements included actions or past experiences taken like “I am divorced,” “I am keeping a secret,” among others. Visitors to the booth took yarn and went tying one end to a knob posted on the artwork and would wrap around all statements that they related to.

“This was to help people realize that ‘I am not alone,'” said Austin Hodges, an Encircle volunteer. Encircle is a group that helps teenagers of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Southern Utah Pride Festival brought people from all backgrounds together to show power in visibility in Historic Town Square, St. George, Utah, Sept. 17, 2022 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

The entertainment included musical performance, poetry reading, and comedy. Some of the main entertainment included The Alkemists, Aiden Barrick, EJ Michels, Raine Stern, and poets Raven, Darren Edwards, and CC Moran. The nighttime event featured “Dragalicious,” a 21+ event at the Dixie Convention Center at 8:30 p.m.

For those who were not able to attend the drag show, a dance party was held downtown at the Historic Town Square.

The theme for the annual event was “Power in Visibility,” and the attendees highlighted the theme as supporters of the cause and those of the community expressed their pride and strength through their apparel and whatever was visible.

Even with a group of protesters present, the attendees enjoyed music, friendship,  and love.

The following photos show the highlights and pride of the festival.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Yamashita has extensive experience reporting for small town media, covering a variety of subjects and events for The Virgin River Times and The Progress in Southern Nevada. Before a career in journalism, he worked a variety of jobs in criminal justice systems. Yamashita holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Southern Utah University. He is an award-winning photographer and writer. He has been published in scholarly articles and poetry compilations. In his spare time, he practices and teaches martial arts.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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