Pride fest shows colors

Hundreds of women took to State Street Saturday, parading past protesters and carrying signs that read, among other things, "Love is Love."

Pushing babies in strollers, leading dogs on leashes and waving rainbow-colored flags, the female marchers — made up mostly of Utahns — were part of the sixth annual Dyke March, one of the events at this weekend's Utah Pride Festival.

Kathy Ellis and Liz Grimshaw attended the march with their 8-year-old daughter, Emalee Ellis-Grimshaw, and dog Gracie. The couple have been going to the festival for nearly a decade and love the way the event has grown, particularly the march.

"Usually, the lesbian community in Salt Lake is not as out as the gay community in Salt Lake," Grimshaw said. "So we're excited for the turnout."

She added: "Our biggest hope is everyone will tolerate one another."

Chimed in Ellis: "Especially in Utah."

Three protesters stood on the outskirts of the gathering and then followed the march to festival grounds at Library and Washington squares.

The women ignored their remarks and ended up loving the moniker the street preachers yelled at them — "homo-ettes."

After one yelled "Hey, mister!" to Bonnie Owens, who spoke to the crowd before the march, she said, "What he doesn't understand is I like to be called a guy.

"So what if we're different? Diversity should be celebrated, not ignored," she said. "Bottom line is if you're homophobic, we need you to stop being homophobic. Homophobic was so last season. ... The paradigms are shifting."

At the Utah Pride Festival Saturday, eventgoers browsed various booths and danced to live music.

The festival features numerous big names, including grand marshal John Amaechi , a former Utah Jazz player who came out as a gay man earlier this year, R&B singing quartet En Vogue and pop singer Sheena Easton.

Local gay celebrity Troy Williams spoke of creating equality for all minorities, like women and all nationalities.

"Because of this ideology, the soul of our nation is dying," he said. "If ever the civil liberties of Mormons, Christians or Republicans came into jeopardy, I would fight for them, too."

Williams produces the talk shows "RadioActive" and "Now Queer This" for KRCL radio. He's gaining national recognition for his film "Natural Family Values," which explores the anti-gay resolution Kanab adopted in 2005.

Various politicians also attended. Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake, said Utah is one of the few states that has three openly gay legislators — herself, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, and Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake.

"It's a great day for (the) Pride (festival). But every day is a great day to be gay in Salt Lake City," she said.