Who makes your Saturday nights unforgettable? Where do you go for the best brunch, the best bar, the best bargain? Which local heroes deserve a little love? You decide. The FABBY Awards are QSaltLake Magazine's annual readers’ choice awards, and you are the judges. Vote for your favorite places to play, eat, and shop, and for the people and groups who make our community shine.

Trevor Lee, one of the most prolific sponsors of anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ bills in the Utah Legislature, is out of office. The Republican lawmaker resigned from the Utah House on Monday, effective immediately, hours after the Utah Attorney General's Office charged him in 3rd District Court with fraud and forgery tied to the mortgage on his newly built Layton home.

Voters in at least 19 states face new voting restrictions that were not in place for the 2024 general election An estimated 1.3 million adult transgender U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in the November 2026 midterm elections, according to a new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. In the United States, 36 states have voter ID laws that require voters to present identification when voting at the polls.

A jury found the Rev. Sara LaWall guilty on August 27 of a misdemeanor charge of trespassing as a result of her involvement in a protest concerning Idaho's anti-transgender law, a case that could lead the Unitarian Universalist minister to imprisonment for as long as six months. LaWall chose to go to trial instead of taking a plea bargain, since the case was part of her continued advocacy work.

by Jerry Rapier Jerry Rapier In August of 2005, playwright Carol Lynn ­Pearson invited 10 people, including me and her dear friend, philanthropist Bruce Bastian, to a private reading of the very first, very raw draft of her new play, FACING EAST. Carol Lynn Pearson She sat in the middle of a borrowed living room in downtown Salt Lake City and read all three roles: Ruth and Alex McCormick, the quintessential Mormon power couple whose gay son has committed suicide, and Marcus, their son’s partner whom they meet for the first time, graveside.

For the past quarter of a century, Equality Utah has put on one event each fall that acts as both a party and a means of raising money — and this year the event is being held to mark its anniversary. On Saturday, Oct. 3, the organization will celebrate 25 years of advocacy with "Allies: Take Flight" at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City, an evening made up of two parts consisting of a Donor Dinner followed by a Celebration Concert and After-Party featuring pop singer…

Utah’s performing and visual arts institutions have rolled out their 2026-27 seasons, and audiences across the Wasatch Front have a packed calendar of world premieres, beloved classics, bold new exhibitions and holiday traditions to look forward to. Here’s a rundown of what’s coming from some of the state’s most prominent arts organizations. Plan-B Theatre Company: Season 36 Plan-B Theatre, Utah’s home for new work by Utah playwrights, announced its 36th season, and it’s a milestone year built around anniversaries and premieres.

Utah's standing in the nation's most closely watched measure of LGBTQ+ business and legal climate took its steepest fall in years, according to the ninth annual State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index released by Out Leadership, the global LGBTQ+ business network. The Beehive State scored 44.7 out of 100 points in the 2026 Index, placing it 30th out of 50 states — a “Low-Middle” tier ranking that report authors say reflects "increased legislative hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community" over the past year.

Picture it, Manhattan, Lincoln Center, September, 2001. A young man with alabaster skin, perky lips, dark brown eyes the color of damp chestnuts, and blond hair courtesy of a muscle queen stylist in Chelsea, is awakened. He is asleep on a dorm room sofa. His friend wakes him up. Screaming, and laughing out of panic, “AWOL,” the young man’s college nickname, “AWOL, there’s a plane in the World Trade Center!”

The Utah Pride Center will host its annual HalloQueen Ball on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple, 650 E. South Temple. The 21-and-over Halloween fundraiser will feature multiple floors of entertainment, live DJs, drag-hosted bingo, food and beverages, and a costume contest offering a $1,500 grand prize across eight categories. Tickets are $31 for general admission and $100 for VIP, which includes four drink tickets, access to a VIP lounge with a dedicated bar and hors d'oeuvres, priority entry through security and check-in, and expedited access to bars throughout the venue.

By Connell O'Donovan I had long been a fan of Carol Lynn’s poetry; I saw her musical “My Turn on Earth” as a teen, and I have always considered her the unofficial Poet Laureate of the Latter-day Saint Church. I came out on July 4th, 1985, divorcing my wife soon after, but I struggled immensely, wallowing in my own toxicity and self-loathing – constantly suicidal.

A few summers ago, sitting poolside with my husband Jewell and my cousin Joy, we started singing the theme song to campy, classic sitcom Green Acres. If you grew up with the reruns, you know the tune is quite catchy. Perhaps, it’s the best part of the show. While writing this, it occurred to me why the character of Lisa Douglas, the chic, Hungarian-born Park Avenue socialite wife of Oliver Douglas, resonates so much with gay men.

The Matrons of Mayhem will host their monthly Third Friday Bingo on Friday, Aug. 21, with this month's proceeds going to MenHealing, a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting male survivors of sexual harm — a population organizers say is too often left out of the conversation around sexual violence and recovery. Doors open at 6 p.m., and bingo begins at 7 p.m.

While Pride festivals across the Wasatch Front bring the largest crowds every summer, a quieter but no less determined wave of Pride celebrations has been unfolding across rural Utah, from the coal-country streets of Carbon County to the oil fields of the Uintah Basin, the high desert of Tooele County and the Utah-Arizona border town of Fredonia, just south of Kanab.

We spent a lot of time when the boys were growing up reminding them that words matter, actions matter more, and that there can be unexpected consequences for both. We also strived to instill in our sons that in our family, every person is shown respect and dignity, even those with whom we disagree. It’s simple: just be nice to everyone.

Last weekend, a few hundred of us spent a July afternoon at Lagoon, just riding roller coasters together. I’ve organized this event since the 1990s, and every year I’m still touched by how simple it is and how much it means. There are no speeches or agendas, just a community coming together in the sun, intentionally. I’ve been involved in Utah’s LGBTQ community since the early 1980s, when I helped restart the then-Gay Student Union at the University of Utah after it had faded away.

The Utah Summer Dance Festival returns Saturday, August 15, bringing a full day of live music and dance performance to the South Salt Lake Community Center, with doors opening at 10:30 a.m. and programming running from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The event, held at 2531 S.400 East, has built a reputation over the years for showcasing an unusually broad range of dance styles.

Seeing the tour of “Hell’s Kitchen” was a reminder of what makes live theater so exciting: the discovery of something completely new. There’s a special thrill in opting to see a show without knowing its history, development, Broadway run, or awards recognition. You’re able to simply sit down, open yourself to something new, and let the show reveal itself. And be blown away.

​I’ve lived in so many places, let’s just say that it’s necessary for me to count on my fingers just how many places I’ve been lucky enough to call home. I will not bore you with the litany of how many, but let’s just say Farmington, N.M. is not the smallest enclave I have called home. That would be gay mecca Wilton Manors, Florida, which was certainly smaller.

On Friday, July 3, people in Provo, Utah, came together to restore a 75-foot Pride mural on Center Street, which had been defaced with gray paint on June 28 — the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Owners of theFINDlab’s Analog Community Center, a creative hub at 187 W. Center St. in Provo, announced on social media that the mural "was vandalized with what appears to be a bug sprayer full of paint." The post noted the significance of the date: on June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village gay bar, at a time when New York law barred serving alcohol to gay patrons and allowed bars to be shut down for serving or employing LGBTQ+ people.

You arrive, as you always do, while the glitter is still settling. The flags are coming down this week off the storefronts on Main Street, off the porches in the Avenues, off the profiles of companies that will not think about us again until next May. The parade route has been swept clean. The festival stages are broken down and loaded into trucks.

Trevor Lee is out of the Utah Legislature, and for many Utahns, particularly members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and communities of color, that news landed like a gift on a Tuesday night. Just to be clear: this is not the kind of "out" Lee has spent four years trying to prevent, legislate against, or mock from behind anonymous social media accounts.

This story was first published by Uncloseted Media. Milo Miles, a Toronto-based adult film actor, was recently banned from entering the United States for the next 10 years after he says he was detained and questioned by Customs and Border Protection agents over the course of two days. Miles, who was trying to fly to Las Vegas from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, says he had never faced significant issues at the border ahead of this instance.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Salt Lake Area will host its annual Pride Build from June 22 through 27, bringing together volunteers, community organizations, and corporate partners for a week of hands-on construction work aimed at advancing affordable housing access for LGBTQ+ Utahns. The event will focus on landscaping and accessibility improvements to existing homes and community parks in South Salt Lake, with volunteers taking daily shifts from 9 a.m.

Governor Cox and Lt. Governor Henderson, In between seeing the wonderful and joyous photographs and posts about the Utah Pride Festival, I have taken a few days to reflect your recent announcement of “Fidelity Month,” and I feel compelled to speak, not just as a Queer person, but as the former CEO of the Utah Pride Center, and as someone who after meeting you many times, once believed deeply in your willingness to lead with courage, compassion, and inclusion.

The Utah Cultural Celebration Center is hosting two Pride-themed exhibitions this month, offering residents along the Wasatch Front a chance to experience community, history, and artistry under one roof. The center's Crescent Gallery and Bridge Gallery are both showcasing Pride-focused works through June 23. “Pride Along the Wasatch” opens in the Crescent Gallery and features the work of award-winning photojournalist…

Governor Spencer J. Cox, do you not remember 10 years ago in 2016 when you spoke at a vigil I attended following the horrific massacre of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, then you put your arm around me, hugged me, and we shared tears in that intimate, somber moment? Was that all fake, a publicity stunt and lies?

Every June for more than five decades, Americans have observed Pride Month — a time to honor LGBTQ+ history, identity, and civil rights struggles dating back to the 1969 Stonewall uprising. But a growing conservative movement is now fighting for the same calendar real estate, with backing from governors, a House Speaker, think tank heavyweights, and one of America's most influential right-leaning intellectuals.

Gov. Spencer Cox has signed a proclamation designating June as “Fidelity Month” in Utah, effectively replacing the state’s longstanding recognition of Pride Month — a move that critics say sends a deliberate and harmful message to LGBTQ Utahns at a moment of heightened national hostility toward the community. The declaration cites polling data suggesting that “support for traditional values has significantly declined” and calls on Utahns to recommit to what it describes as core values of “faith, family, and country.” The proclamation includes a quote from founding father John Adams — “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.

There are mornings I open my news feeds and have to set my phone face down on the desk and just breathe. I know you recognize that feeling. The bills, the ­headlines, the legislation — it accumulates. It is designed to accumulate. Exhaustion is not a side effect of these attacks on our community; it is often the point. And yet.

The city of North Salt Lake will launch its 2026 “Unity in the Community” series with a Pride celebration on Monday, June 1, marking the start of Pride Month with an evening focused on inclusion, visibility, and neighborhood connection. The event will run from 5 to 8 p.m. at Legacy Park, where attendees will find food trucks, a live DJ, music, and photo opportunities.

The Park City Council unanimously approved a resolution on May 7 proclaiming June 2026 as Pride Month in Park City, reaffirming the city’s support for LGBTQ+ residents and visitors through a series of visible community activations and inclusion initiatives. As part of the declaration, Pride banners will line Main Street light poles throughout June, while local transit vehicles will again feature “Ride with Pride” decals.

The Utah Film Center is bringing queer favorites, beloved cult classics, and queer cinema experiences back to Salt Lake City this summer with the return of its 2026 Summer Outdoor Film Series and the ongoing UQFF Year-Round screening program. 2026 Summer Outdoor Film Series This year’s outdoor screenings move to Pioneer Park, where audiences can enjoy music-filled films and iconic movie moments beneath the stars.

As rainbow flags begin to appear across Salt Lake City and teams prepare for one of the state’s largest public celebrations, organizers of the 2026 Utah Pride celebration say this year is about more than just bigger crowds or louder parties. It is about elevation. Under the theme “Pride Elevated,” Utah Pride is returning in June with an expanded slate of programming that organizers say reflects the changing needs of Utah’s LGBTQIA+ community, from youth spaces and memorial installations to nightlife experiences, civic ceremonies, and renewed alliances with organizations across the state.

When we lived in the Bay Area, I had an acquaintance, Dale. He was a friend of a friend from the gym. Like me, he was originally from Utah. Unlike me, he was from a Mormon family, a very devout one to boot. He and all his brothers had been missionaries, his dad was a bishop, the whole shebang. Also, he wasn’t out.

A burst of color, creativity, and community will return to Red Butte Garden this June as the botanical landmark hosts its third annual Blooming with Pride celebration.

The thump came again. Everyone froze. “That was not the wind,” Mateo said. They crowded toward the living room window, peering through the sheer curtains. In the narrow space between their house and the newly purchased place next door, a man in a hoodie was hauling a ladder back into Grant Whitaker’s yard. “Is he… measuring our house?” Eli whispered.

Dear Readers, For more than two decades, QSaltLake Magazine has existed to inform and entertain the LGBTQ+ community and tell our community’s stories honestly, proudly, and without compromise. From moments of celebration to times of uncertainty, we’ve been here documenting LGBTQ+ life in Utah because those stories matter. Today, I’m writing to share an important step toward ensuring that work continues for years to come.

The road to Over the Rainbow is fraught with danger and excitement. Recently, I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas to see the “Wizard of Oz” in the Sphere. There were six of us in our little band of Friends of Dorothy going on this excursion. I, being from the homo erectus era, am of great age and decrepitude.

This story was originally published in Uncloseted Media, an LGBTQ focused investigative news outlet. This story was written in partnership with Gay Times Magazine. When Evan decided it was time to tell his boyfriend that he voted for Trump, he couldn’t get the words out. “I was stuttering for 20 minutes straight on the phone,” he told Uncloseted Media and GAY TIMES.

Pride is getting a fresh pour this year, and it comes with a brand-new face — well, five of them. Ogden's Own Distillery has unveiled the 2026 label for its beloved Five Husbands Vodka, turning the spotlight once again on real members of Utah’s LGBTQ+ community — and raising a glass to the stories, humor, and heart that define them.

Utah Rep. Trevor Lee narrowly secured a place on the Republican primary ballot April 18, surviving a high-stakes Davis County nominating convention shaped by unique party bylaws and an already-qualified challenger. Lee faced off against Bob Stevenson, who had already guaranteed his spot on the primary ballot by gathering enough voter signatures ahead of the convention. That meant the convention would determine whether Lee could join him, and under what conditions either candidate might claim the party’s backing.

Utah Stonewall Democrats Roll Out Endorsements The partisan LGBTQ+ organization Utah Stonewall Democrats announced a broad slate of endorsements for local, county, legislative, and congressional races in the upcoming election season. Most endorsements apply to Salt Lake County Nominating Convention races, which happened earlier in April, while several statewide and multi-county contests, including congressional and select legislative seats, will be decided at the State Democratic Convention on April 25.

Under the Spring sun at Layton Commons Park, the circus ring will be set, not for spectacle alone, but for something deeper: visibility, belonging, and a community stepping boldly into the spotlight. On May 2, Davis County Pride marks its fifth anniversary with a theme that feels both celebratory and defiant: “This Is Me.” With more than 130 booths, a dozen food trucks, and a full afternoon of performances and activities, organizers say this year’s festival is their most ambitious yet, while still holding tight to the intimate, community-driven spirit that has defined it from the beginning.

A survivor-led nonprofit working to support those impacted by conversion therapy launched a new fundraising push as it prepares to return to Utah Pride this year. The Conversion Therapy Survivor Network created a GoFundMe campaign, “Building Community,” to cover general operating expenses that sustain the organization’s year-round work. Those efforts include: A weekly survivor support group where people can connect, process, and heal in community…

A high-stakes Republican convention battle in Davis County this weekend has LGBTQ advocates across Utah salivating, as second-term Rep. Trevor Lee faces a challenge from longtime local leader Bob Stevenson for a Utah House seat representing Layton and surrounding communities. The race highlights a growing divide within the state’s Republican Party and carries major implications for LGBTQ Utahns, given Lee’s role in advancing legislation targeting Pride flags, Harvey Milk Boulevard, and wider cultural flashpoints.

As Pride season approaches, Project Rainbow is calling on Utahns to step up and help bring visibility to LGBTQ+ communities across the state—one flag at a time. The organization, known for its large-scale Pride flag installations, is seeking volunteers for its 2026 campaign, which aims to place hundreds of Pride flags in cities and rural areas alike. From Salt Lake City to Cedar City, Ogden to St.

With just days remaining before one of Utah’s most affirming academic celebrations, organizers are making a final call for graduates, volunteers, and community members to take part in this year’s Lavender Graduation. Set for Thursday, April 23, the ceremony will take place at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, where more than 50 LGBTQ+ graduates are expected to be honored in a celebration of not simply academic achievement but also identity, resilience, and community.

LGBTQ artists will take a visible place on Salt Lake City’s biggest public concert stage this summer, as the Salt Lake City Arts Council announces the 2026 Twilight Concert Series lineup. Among the six national touring acts scheduled to perform, indie-pop trio MUNA and singer-songwriter Suki Waterhouse, both of whom have publicly identified as part of the LGBTQ community, bring queer representation to this year’s city-backed series.

On any given Wednesday night, the dance floor at MILK+ transforms into a boot-stompin’, toe-tappin’ celebration of queer joy. From 7 to 10 p.m., Salt Lick Dancing hosts a free weekly country and line dancing event that’s become a midweek ritual for LGBTQ+ folks and allies alike. “What began six months ago as a simple dance night has grown into a vibrant, welcoming community where connection is just as important as choreography,” said organizer Edward Glass.