No matter where you get your Pride on, the sight of seeing so many effervescent souls converging in varying stages of dress and undress is indescribably powerful. That ribald “rainbow spirit” is outrageous, playful and proud. But it’s also sobering to think that much of the #lovewins talk of Pride is borne out of the collective wounds and painful memories that a good many LGBTQ have had to carry with them. Before there were rainbows, there were riots, protests and discrimination to overcome.
The Pride festival marks another year of survival and strength. A conservative hub like Salt Lake can so often make those outside the mainstream feel “othered” and excluded, and the act of being visible and seen for who you is incredibly healing.
That’s why, as cases of the pandemic appear to be slowing, it’s vital that the Utah Pride Festival bring us all together again. This year’s COVID-safe gathering will be greatly scaled back compared to past years’: no parade, live entertainment or vendors. If that sounds a little bit underwhelming, read on. Utah Pride Center CEO Rob Moolman will provide a multitude of reasons of why you should adorn yourself in your technicolor finest and come downtown to reconnect with your rainbow-loving besties.
In this issue, we’re excited to announce the possibility of a new queer bookstore as well as the bottling of a fresh batch of Ogden’s Own Five Husbands vodka. The locally distilled spirit spotlights five Utahns—are they brother-husbands?—some of whom you know.
For those of the LGBTQ persuasion who are grappling with coming out even if it means exiting the LDS church, Carolyn Campbell has provided a directory of organizations that can offer support and guidance.
And finally, Babs De Lay, who writes City Weekly‘s Urban Living column about local happenings and real estate trends, has scribed a piece about the golden era of women’s music as well as a touching tribute to a local icon, dear departed Charles Lynn Frost. De Lay, in her Urban Living column, also reflects on the early years of celebrating Salt Lake Pride.
And it’s good timing to announce that starting next fall, Weber State University in Ogden will be Utah’s first institution to offer a queer studies minor. The coursework will help graduates understand the unique challenges of those who identify with being LGBTQ and will equip students to create more inclusive workplace environments.
—Jerre Wroble
PS: For enquiring minds who’ve asked: The Miss City Weekly pageant is on COVID-hold again year. So, until the runway beckons again (hopefully in 2022), keep your drag alive!
Rainbow Gardens
Utah Pride Center’s Rob Moolman talks about an a-maze-ing (and COVID-safe) Pride Week.
By Jerre Wroble
Rob Moolman has led the Utah Pride Center since February of 2018. After more than three years as CEO of the center, and two years before that on the UPC’s board, Moolman recently announced he will be leaving the nonprofit.
His tenure has been challenging but through it all, he brought his “engaging and calm demeanor,” as UPC board president Chris Jensen describes it, to the helm, helping guide UPC through recent well-publicized staff layoffs and criticisms. Moolman not only dealt with the impacts of staff reductions but also led the nonprofit “amid new community expectations, a new building, new program demands, the changing sociopolitical imperatives of 2020, as well as a financial crisis resulting from the pandemic,” Jensen says in a press release announcing the nonprofit’s search for a new CEO.
City Weekly caught up with Moolman in the countdown to the 2021 Pride festivities, which promises to be unlike any other the UPC has hosted.
City Weekly: After the year of COVID we’ve just been through, what’s the general state of Pride—in SLC and beyond?
Rob Moolman, Ph.D.: Pride is not something that goes away. While it might have been a little more difficult to see over the last few months, it has always been with us—think about all those rainbow flags you saw waving in communities and of the online celebrations we hosted through 2020.
We are happy to say that the celebrations are returning. They’re an important part of the fabric of the queer communities across the country and the world. We are making sure that the Pride events are safe for our communities which were disproportionately affected by COVID.
Salt Lake’s traditional Pride Festival and Parade are not happening this year due to COVID. Even still, UPC has created a unique celebration this year. How did the vision for it come about?
The 2021 Pride Celebration is unique, and we are so proud to be hosting it and to have a wonderful team of planners and volunteers putting together something that has never been done before. We pulled it off in 2020, when we were one of the only Pride Centers across the U.S. to host our Pride Road Rally—a large scale, successful, community-focused event—where we invited the communities to come out on National Coming Out Day to “drag Main.”
Our 2021 Pride Garden is going to be something quite special. This incredible event will probably never happen again—in this form and on this scale. It’s going to be fun, educational and offer an opportunity to come out of our houses, to be together again and to do so safely.
This original, one-time Pride Story Garden is an interactive outdoor exhibit curated with national and local partners. A limited number of guests will be allowed access to roam and find their way through this “a-maze-ing” exhibit that will tell “Our History, Our Stories, Our Communities.”
Twenty unique gardens will be available for guests to enjoy, each with their own theme that will include educational, artistic, informational and interactive elements with limited physical contact. Guests will have the option to purchase a Garden Games Gift Bag that includes toys and tools to enhance your garden experience as you partake in all interactive elements.
What can be done at this Pride celebration to raise awareness about important issues that impact the local LGBTQ community?
First: Come and find out about our history and our stories and the work of the LGBTQ+ communities in our story garden. As the expression goes—we are doomed to repeat history if we don’t remember it.
Second: Bring yourself and your voice to the Pride March and Rally (Utah Capitol, Sunday, June 6, 10 a.m.). In the past, the UPC has proudly hosted and organized the Dyke March, Trans March and the Pride March and Rally, which have all provided a space and opportunity to celebrate, recognize and give voice to our Lesbian, Dyke, Trans, Bi, Pansexual, Queer BIPOC and Non-Binary communities.
This year, we are asking people to join us for the Rainbow March and Rally, which will be one of the focal points of our week. We will “raise our voices” in support of all of these communities again as Utah’s LGBTQ+ community comes together to support each other, and to celebrate our roots and history.
What are small ways that people can make Pride Week more inclusive and diverse?
They can fly flags (Support Project Rainbow) or get yard signs from the UPC (pictured below) in order to show their visible support for their communities. I would also urge them to support local queer-owned and BIPOC-owned and -operated businesses and restaurants.
Yard Signs Available for Purchase:
CW: In addition to putting on the biggest party of the year, how does the Utah Pride Center serve the community?
Rob Moolman: Our mental health programs are open to everyone and payment is on a sliding scale. The Utah Pride Center’s Community Counseling practices an affirmative approach to psychotherapy, working with our young and older folks to uncover their interpersonal concerns within the context of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Many of the issues addressed in the one-on-one meetings or the support groups cover all the identities listed above.
Our programs and events are vast and varied. We have some programs that focus on the very particular identities: Gay Mens support group, People of Color Program or TransAction.
And then we have other programs and events that strive to be an inclusive space for everyone. We also have celebrations and recognition of particular identities: Intersex Awareness Day, Trans Day of Visibility, etc.
Our education and training department provides cultural competency training: annual conferences, GSA/QSA work, school collaborations and Community Education Learning Series.
We have also just started Rainbow Wellness—which is like an adult-learning program that connects LGBTQIA+ community members and allies by providing wellness opportunities that nurture health and authenticity in mind, body and soul. It allows all of us to learn, grow and have fun together.
How is the Pride Center different from Equality Utah?
Our amazing friends at Equality Utah are the advocates for our communities through the legislative period, and in many of the legal and political issues that crop up in our community. They advocate fiercely and fabulously for our communities.
The Utah Pride Center is the community-resource hub that offers programs and services for our community. For almost 30 years, we have provided the support for our communities when they needed it and provided ways to celebrate our fabulous identities.
The result of the work of Equality Utah is felt and seen at the UPC. It is an important relationship, and one we are proud to be connected with.
What’s the best way for newcomers to connect with the local LGBTQ community?
Get onto a newsletter and mailing list. Follow the wonderful different organizations on Facebook or social media. Volunteer for the events. Come to the programs.
Rob, you will soon be leaving the helm of Utah Pride. Will you remain in Utah?
I am remaining in Utah and remain dedicated to the people and work that needs to be done in our community.
What have you loved about the job?
The opportunity to serve our communities. To work with an incredible team of dedicated professionals. The joy of learning more. The importance of being involved in the important conversations that need to be held. Seeing the center grow and improve and survive through good times and tough times.
What’s been the most challenging part of your job?
2020!—Is that enough of an answer?
I also want to see the growth in outreach to more communities in need—particularly our Latinx and BIPOC queer communities. We have not done well in that work, and we recognize that. We need to do better and have been working very hard to improve those relationships.
What do you hope your legacy at Utah Pride will be?
Programs at the Utah Pride Center now include SAGE, the Utah Queer History Society, TransAction, an Education and Training Department, our People of Color program, our Latinx task forces, and our GSA Conference—these have emerged and grown in just three short years.
I think/hope my legacy will be:
• Increased the visibility of the UPC in the community
• Increased UPC’s community connection and focus on community voices
• Brought suicide prevention resources
• Improved UPC’s processes, structures and fundraising.
Utah Pride Week 2021 | June 1-7
This will be a unique celebration that replaces the annual Pride Festival and Pride Parade we’ve come to know and love. This may be the first and possibly the only time an event like this will take place, so be sure and catch the historic celebration.
To ensure the safety of attendees, the Utah Pride Center has planned events with COVID-19 restrictions in place. As such, the traditional parade and festival are not in the cards in 2021. In addition, there will not be the traditional food and beverage vendors, stages or live entertainment this year. That means no food or alcohol will be available at this year’s events but there will be water stations and hand-sanitizing stations. And UPC will follow the current government guidelines on masking, whatever they happen to be the first week of June (it’s always a good idea to pack a mask to be safe).
It is best to purchase your tickets in advance but there will be a limited number of tickets for purchase at the door. To manage the social-distancing effort, ticket holders may only enter the Story Garden at designated times.
And yes, Virginia, there will be selfie stations. Lots and lots of selfie stations throughout the gardens.
2021 Pride Week Celebration Schedule of Events
June 1: Pride Month Proclamations and Flag Raisings
The Utah Pride Center raises the Pride Flag at the Utah Pride Center (1380 S. Main, SLC), 9 a.m.
Flag Raising Ceremony with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Council members at Salt Lake City & County Building (451 S. State, SLC), 1:30 p.m.
June 2: Pride Interfaith Service
Virtual event where many faiths and traditions come together to celebrate and unite for a service of song, prayer and inspiration.
Virtual/Streaming/Zoom—Register for link at utahpridecenter.org/pride-interfaith-service, 7 a.m.
June 3-7: Pride Story Garden “Our History, Our Stories, Our Communities”
Washington Square, Salt Lake City & County Building
This is a maze-like interactive outdoor exhibit featuring 20 unique gardens with educational, artistic, informational and interactive elements. Garden themes include:
Utah Queer History
Salt Lake is Burning
Award Winners
Arts & Entertainment (North)
Community Stakeholders
Remembering Stonewall
Drag Queendom/Kingdom
Center Zone North
LGBTQ+ Around the World
Transcending Gender
Civil Rights Timeline
Sanctuary Secret Garden
Center Zone South
Studio 54 Dance Party
Retro Pop
Community Partners
Arts & Entertainment (North)
Tributes & Memorials
Flying Our Flags
PRIDE Garden
Hours:
Thursday, June 3: 12 noon-10 p.m.
Friday, June 4, through Monday, June 7: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tickets: $10-$25 per person, $10 for Garden Games Gift Bag (while supplies last). See ticket info below.
June 6: Rainbow March & Rally “Raise Our Voices”
Utah Capitol, 350 N. State, SLC
The rally starts at 10 a.m. A march will begin after the rally.
A 200-foot rainbow flag will be carried down State Street through rainbow-colored balloon arches that will join together to create a massive balloon arch consisting of a thousand balloons. The march turn east on 900 South and terminates at Liberty Park.
Tickets:
showclix.com/tickets/pridestorygarden Discount tickets are also available during weekdays.
Pride packages: Friends and families of four, or groups of 20, can come together and save with Pride Packages.
Unicorn donations: When buying your own ticket, consider being a unicorn donor by donating extra funds to help low-income members of our community. If you are in need of a “scholarship” ticket, complete an online application at utahpridecenter.org/pride-story-garden-scholarship-ticket-application.
All funds raised make the Pride Week Celebration possible and support the year-round UPC programs and services.
For more information, please contact prideinfo@utahpridecenter.org.
- Courtesy Photo
- Kaitlyn Mahoney
A New Literary Umbrella
Kaitlyn Mahoney looks for a gathering spot for her crowd-funded queer bookstore.
By River Coello and Sam Stecklow
Just in time for Pride month, a fundraising campaign to open a “queer little bookstore” in Salt Lake City has reached its $50,000 goal—and continues to grow. In the past year, LGBTQ rights—particularly trans rights—have come under attack, and racial justice efforts have been at the forefront nationwide and in Utah. The events of the past year made it clear to Under the Umbrella founder Kaitlyn Mahoney that a queer-led, gender-affirming, racially inclusive, all-ages, fully accessible multipurpose space is something desperately needed in Utah.
Mahoney—who uses both she and they pronouns—is a Provo native who has worked with words as a copy editor for her entire career and has long aspired to open a bookshop.
About a year and a half ago, they created an Instagram account to share queer books they were reading. The success of the account showed “such a need for people who are looking for diverse stories,” Mahoney told City Weekly in an interview.
Given the campaign’s success in the few short months since it launched in February, she was clearly right. With nearly 500 backers on Indiegogo, Mahoney is well on her way to bringing Under the Umbrella into fruition as a community-oriented space—”by queers for queers,” as she put it.
This is may be best illustrated by the $2,500 donation that put the campaign over the top. When Mahoney reached out to the donor, Alex Allan, to thank him, they learned that it was actually made on behalf of about 40 people in memory of Allan’s book-loving late husband, Brian Short.
Short had worked to foster a similarly inclusive literary space through a book club he ran at The King’s English in Salt Lake City, so when Allan learned of Under the Umbrella, he thought a donation to fund a shelf bearing Short’s name would be a perfect way to pay homage. “If I have a way to honor him that is everlasting and meaningful, I’m easily convinced,” he said.
Mahoney’s vision for their shop as a community space extends beyond the funding of the campaign. They are considering different types of leadership structures for the shop, including co-op frameworks used by other queer and feminist independent bookstores, like the Bluestockings Cooperative in New York City. This is particularly important to them when they consider the canon they hope to stock in the store, and the voices they intend to highlight.
“I think we just need to be aware of how other identities are marginalized within our already marginalized community,” she said. When asked about racial diversity specifically, she said that as a white person, she “should be listening and using my voice to amplify other people’s voices”—not only with their purchasing power, but also in the resources and programming the store will feature.
Mahoney will have a rich history of local queer literature to line the shelves of Under the Umbrella. A spotlight on the state’s LGBTQ authors created last year by the Mapping Literary Utah project, which is run by Utah poet laureate Paisley Rekdal, showcases a range of writers over the years—from Mormon suffragette Kate Thomas, to Harlem Renaissance novelist Wallace Thurman, to modern poets such as Willy Paloma and Natasha Sajé.
It is also important that the store be fully accessible, gender-affirming, sober and open to all ages to better support the more marginalized members of the queer community. A number of queer spaces—many of which are gay bars—have long been unwelcoming to these communities, are inaccessible to those under 21 and can be downright dangerous for those who struggle with addiction and substance abuse issues.
Finding a space that is both accessible to patrons with mobility disabilities and one that can accommodate gender-neutral bathrooms is one of Mahoney’s challenges. However, they are not deterred. Their goal is to open by the end of the summer, while having a presence at smaller events like Westminster College’s Pride Festival until then.
Beyond donating to the campaign, queer Utahns and their allies can support Mahoney’s vision in other ways. Book donations toward the shop’s stock and book suggestions and recommendations will go a long way in helping facilitate the store’s opening.
She is also seeking an indigenous artist from Utah for a paid commission for a land acknowledgement that will be present in the store, as it will stand on occupied Eastern Shoshone, Goshute, Paiute and Ute land. To learn more, visit undertheumbrellabookstore.com.
- Courtesy Photo
- Groups like Affirmation provide “a landing place,” a place to heal and connect with others, so that those identifying as LGBTQ can get their feet on the ground.
The Fallout of Coming Out
Support for Latter-day Saints who come out as LGBTQ
By Carolyn Campbell
“… God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.”
—The Family: A Proclamation to the World,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Verses such as this make it hard to figure out where one fits in if one doesn’t “fit in.” In Utah, especially, the LDS Church’s policy can be a bitter pill to swallow. It goes on to stress that “those who experience same-sex attraction or identify as gay can fully participate in the church, as long as they “live the law of chastity.” They may receive church callings, hold temple recommends, receive temple ordinances, and males may even be called to the priesthood.
LGBTQ folks who remain active in the LDS Church aren’t supposed to have “the blessings of eternal marriage and parenthood in this life.” They have to just wait for their eternal reward. Is it any wonder that there can be an extreme disconnect between those who grow up as faithful LDS members and then realize they are LGBTQ?
“Just as most of us, when we are at odds with our family, don’t usually abandon our membership in the family,” says Mormon Matters podcaster Dan Wotherspoon, “many LDS Church members care enough about their fellow community members, their ‘people,’ to stick around and be voices that call for more compassion and more thinking.”
As such, there are a growing number of organizations that provide support to Latter-day Saints who identify as LGBTQ. Want to know more about who they are and what they do? Here’s a sampling for those struggling to make peace with their Mormon affiliation.
Affirmation
President Nathan Kitchen once described Affirmation as a place to land. A Brazilian then commented that the word for “land” has a deeper meaning in Brazil. “It’s where you come home to rest.” That definition, says Kitchen, describes Affirmation’s role in the lives of queer and transgender people who are currently or formerly affiliated with the LDS Church. “We understand that as you come out or transition, you need very affirming support. There will be rejecting behavior and speech from those in your circle of orbit.”
Affirmation provides a landing place, so people don’t feel isolated; it’s also a place to rest and heal, Kitchen adds. “Often, we get caught up in our personal situations. One way to emerge from that is to realize that you have a community to give back to and be affirmed as your authentic self with no judgment.”
Even after people find their footing “in this life of being queer, Affirmation offers a complete network where all generations can help and mentor one another. If someone needs something specific, we have someone who has traveled that road and is willing to make it easier for the traveler.”
Affirmation originated in 1977 when a small group of BYU students experiencing same-sex attraction met together “to try to figure out what was happening to them.” Today, thousands of people in Affirmation chapters worldwide attend events, watch videos online and form friendships.
At Affirmation conferences, strangers become instant friends, “Because we have that common heritage that informs who we are.” After coming out himself, Kitchen followed the steps of Affirmation’s vision—land, rest, share and be authentic. “It really sets your feet on the ground.”
Affirmation.org
Latter Gay Stories Podcast and Resource Center
Kyle Ashworth served an LDS mission, married and had children—all to make his homosexuality go away. “What do you do when it doesn’t go away?” he asks, “That’s why we have Latter Gay Stories.”
This podcast’s goal is to help people know that “they are not alone, are not broken, and their best days are ahead,” says Ashworth. To achieve this purpose, “visibility is our No. 1 goal; to help normalize this topic and show the general community that LGBTQ families function the same as any other family.
When people understand the LGBTQ community better, this topic becomes [as comfortable as] your neighbor next door. It’s no longer abnormal or nuanced.”
The podcasts differ from discussions around an LDS bishop’s desk or ward council and are more like informal conversations at home around the kitchen table. Still, Ashworth hopes that those usually attending a bishop’s meeting will visit his Latter Gay Stories kitchen table. “I have a seat for them,” he says.
Now in its ninth season, Latter Gay Stories releases an interview episode every 7 to 10 days and a “coming out” story on Sundays. On Tuesdays, “In My Own Words” is a written feature, often submitted by listeners, that begins with ‘the “normal’ parts of a person’s experience—such as ‘I am a Baker.’
“It’s a play off of the old ‘I’m a Mormon’ campaign,” Ashworth says.
lattergaystories.org
I’ll Walk With You
A gay psychologist who experienced conflict when coming out to his parents founded I’ll Walk With you, a Facebook group that offers monthly virtual support groups for LDS parents to connect with others. “He felt that they needed a safe space to process and learn more about their children as LGBTQ,”‘ says Karen Penman, a group administrator. Today, 2,500 people worldwide are site members.
“We have parents who are brand new in finding out about their kids, people of all levels of faith—there is room for everyone,” says Penman, herself the mother of a transgender child. She says, “I had immense growth as a person as I became acquainted with other parents. I listened more to my child’s story, not just to solve but, rather, to be there and celebrate his life with him. Our son now has accomplished many things—graduating from high school and college and getting married. I am so grateful we were there at his side, rather than cutting ties because of religious beliefs.”
I’ll Walk With You
facebook.com/groups/WalkWithYouLDSParentsOfLGBTQ
Peculiar
After George Deussen and his wife, Alyson, lost their gay son, Stockton, to suicide five years ago, they felt compelled to help other families. They created Peculiar, a nonprofit outreach and ally educational program whose primary mission is to inspire and empower parents to love their LGBTQ children unconditionally.
“When Stockton came out as gay at age 13, in all honesty, Alyson and I struggled at first,” says Deussen. “It took us six months to a year to become more educated through our own research and connecting with people already on the path. Then we saw it from another perspective, and Stockton became our No. 1 priority as we tried to support his spiritual health and well-being.”
Today, through their Peculiar Places safe havens, Allies and Appetizers educational program, and working with Brigham and Women’s Hospital to develop an educational platform to improve engagement and support for LGBT youth, the Deussens continue to offer community outreach. “It’s all about returning to love,” he says.
thepeculiar.org
Encircle
The atmosphere inside an Encircle house is warm, inviting and comfortable, echoing how founder and CEO Stephenie Larsen hopes all who enter will feel.
Five years ago, Larsen took action after learning of the high youth suicide rate in her native Provo. Driving downtown, she found a house with two rainbow-colored stained-glass windows and knew she had the right place. “I knew it shouldn’t be in a strip mall, but in a home, so that kids who didn’t feel at home anywhere else could come here and feel safe just as they are.”
Today, on weekdays after school, kids come to one of three Encircle houses to do homework, eat snacks, paint, play the piano and enjoy the safe space. Encircle offers subsidized therapy, paying $100 per session while families pay $25. “We take data on every therapy session and program to be sure that they are helping children develop less suicidality,” says Larsen.
When a child comes out, some parents struggle more than the youth. “We want to shorten the time when parents aren’t affirming or don’t understand,” Larsen says. “Therapy helps parents, but the way that parents move most quickly is by watching other parents who model affirming behavior.” 98% of parents who come to Encircle are of the LDS faith. “They ask, ‘how can I love my child and my religion?'” says Larsen. “From the beginning, we try to help them solve that conflict and work through it.”
encircletogether.or
- Birds of a feather: The familiar faces of Ogden Own Five Husbands
Fab Five
This year, Ogden’s Own “husbands” are those we know and love.
By Jerre Wroble
Another Pride celebration, another opportunity to purchase a bottle of Odgen’s Own vodka—but the one with the unique name of “Five Husbands.” Ogden’s Own has been branding the vodka with a Pride moniker such for three Pride festivals.
This year is noteworthy in that the bottles will feature the visages of real Utahns—namely Utah Pride Center’s Rob Moolman, Equality Utah’s Troy Williams, model and leasing agent C.J. Hamblen, DJ/music producer Georgios Spiliopoulos and entrepreneur Johnny Hebda.
Chatting With Ogden’s Own Steve Conlin
The man behind the brand and the photography for Five Husbands is none other than Steve Conlin, Ogden’s Own CEO. Prior to heading up a craft distillery, Conlin worked for the IRS, followed by stints as a photojournalist and forays into the real estate industry.
Tell us a little bit about Ogden’s Own Distillery
We started in Utah in 2009 making Underground Herbal Spirit as the brainchild of Tim Smith. We now make Five Wives Vodka, Madam Pattirini Gin, Porter’s Whiskies including our rye and huckleberry, peach, peanut butter, apple and cinnamon (fire) flavors. We just built a new 34,000 square-foot facility in Ogden with an outdoor music venue and a bar that will both be operational very soon.
And what’s the story behind this special edition of vodka?
This will be the third rendition of the Five Husbands Vodka label. Originally, we put members of our own staff on the product to show how much as a company we stand with the LGBTQ+ community. In 2020, we’d hoped to incorporate members of the community on the label but with COVID-19 stopping all of the events, we decided to hold off on that until now. We just put rainbow masks on the husbands in 2020. This year, we are lucky enough to have some of our favorite people in the Utah LGBTQ community take our spot on the label.
How has the reception been for Five Husbands?
The community has been so supportive of the product that the DABC is now stocking it year-round! So, we will make as much as the consumer demand is throughout the year.
How did you select the Five Husbands this year?
These guys all show support and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. Through events, we’ve met some of amazing people doing great things in the community. It’s been an honor just to get know this year’s husbands. They truly embrace everything they do with passion and commitment and have welcomed Ogden’s Own as allies. Throughout the years, we’ve had the opportunity to support many events in Utah including Pride, Equality Utah galas, dance events, etc. We’ve always thought the bottle would be a great way to celebrate members of the community and are thrilled we get to do that this year. We hope that each year, we will change the label to highlight people who are making a difference. COVID-19 created a unique set of challenges getting the label done this year, but hopefully the next few years will be easier!
What’s your Pride cocktail?
If you’re feeling fancy:
click to enlarge 
The Rainbow
2 ounces Five Husbands Vodka
1 ounce peach schnapps
1 ounce Blue Curaçao
½ ounce grenadine
1 ounce pineapple juice
Pour slowly in a glass over ice. Using a spoon, guide the next layer on top and repeat.
Is there a charitable aspect to this clever marketing idea?
We do not donate a specific amount with each purchase, but we do use the money generated from the sales of Five Husbands to support LGBTQ+ events throughout the year including:
Equality Utah
Utah Pride Center
Numerous Skyfall events
What’s your driving force for giving so much back to the community?
My approach has always been if you see something that needs to be done, and you can do it, you do it. I also like making a difference and, hopefully, having good impact on my community. Whether that means building Ogden’s Own into a long-lasting part of the Utah community or supporting LGBTQ+ organizations that make Utah just that much more diverse, I get joy out of being part of it! To me, Pride Week is one of the most fun in Utah and getting to be involved and supportive is really a selfish act—I get to join in all the fun and feel like we contributed!
Your toast for Pride week?
I’ll be toasting to my favorite week of the year in Utah. A week where everyone from LGBTQ to allies and family get to feel comfortable simply expressing who they are. It always makes me smile.
Know Your Husbands
They’re all Utah locals passionate about spreading the message of inclusiveness.
My name: Rob Moolman, Ph.D.
My gig: Executive director/CEO of the Utah Pride Center
Favorite vodka cocktail: Martini, Up, 3 olives
What Pride means to me: It is a public, and visible, moment where our community can be seen, celebrated and connected!
Favorite Pride anthem: “Raise your Glass”—Pink!
What I’ll be toasting to at Utah Pride 2021: The work, services, resources and amazing team of people serving our community at the Utah Pride Center!
My name: Troy Williams
My gig: Executive director of Equality Utah
Favorite vodka cocktail: a dirty filthy martini
What Pride means to me: Pride is the freedom to love and liberate the world.
Favorite Pride anthem: “Don’t Leave Me This Way” cover by the Communards. It was the first CD I ever bought as a kid. That should have told me everything.
What I’ll be toasting to at Utah Pride 2021? To Utah banning conversion therapy, and protecting transgender kids from proposed laws at the Legislature. Oh, and to surviving a pandemic. It’s time to reconnect, recharge and come back together.
My name: C.J. Hamblen
My gig: Leasing consultant for AMC, freelance modeling
Favorite vodka cocktail: Moscow Mule
What Pride means to me: Pride to me means being your truest self and not being afraid to express it! You’ve gotta own it!
Favorite Pride anthem: The one song that keeps me going and gets me through it all is definitely “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus.
What I’ll be toasting to at Utah Pride 2021: Cheers to us all continuing to make serious moves!
My name: Georgios Spiliopoulos
My gig: DJ/music producer/ owner of Queen House Music & QSQUARED/event producer/
promoter
Favorite vodka cocktail: Moscow Mule
What Pride means to me: Pride is the biggest celebration of the LGBTQIA community. It means being your authentic self and being accepted even if you don’t feel it. Pride is about standing together and lifting each other up. Celebration of our community/chosen family that accepts us no matter what.
Favorite Pride anthem: “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga
What I’ll be toasting to at Utah Pride 2021: I will be toasting to equality and acceptance and to celebrate pride all year round!
My name: Johnny Hebda
My gig: Entrepreneur by day/ Life of the Party by night
Favorite vodka cocktail: Five Husbands Vodka with soda and a rainbow straw, please
What Pride means to me: A chance to celebrate my sexuality, freedom, diversity and be visible (and non-stop partying all weekend/pools and vodka)
Favorite Pride anthem: I’m pretty partial to Todrick Hall’s “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” (and hint, hint, Five Husbands is sponsoring a live performance of said anthem on June 4 right here in Salt Lake City)
What I’ll be toasting to at Utah Pride 2021: I mean only toasting once? My first toast will be at the end of the Pride Spectacular to an amazing event! My last toast will be at the end of the weekend, for having survived 10 or more parties and events (and thanking Five Husbands Vodka for the liquid fuel that got me through!)
- JEB
- The Olivia Records collective in 1973, with co-founderJudy Dlugacz, far right.
Women: The Third Decade
Those bygone years when women made beautiful music about women, for women.
By Babs De Lay
For 28 years, I produced Women: The Third Decade, the longest-running women in music program on public radio in the U.S. And it was broadcast here in Utah on KRCL 90.9 FM. I have hundreds and hundreds of LPs and CDs by women that I shared with my audience. It was one of the top shows for fundraising during membership drives, but new management felt the station needed to be more commercial and let the all-volunteer morning DJs go and hired replacements for the volunteers. We all lost our continued and consistent “herstory” of women in music and their accomplishments that allowed for the success of women artists today.
I first went on the radio in the 1980s a decade after the term “women’s music” was becoming a thing around the world. I was specifically recruited to replace a woman who had a program about women in music, mostly women vocalists from the 1960s such as Patti Page and Leslie Gore.
Meg Christian and Cris Williamson—two lesbian vocalists/songwriters—formed the record label Olivia Records. Poll any old Dyke and you can bet they have a copy of Williamson’s The Changer and the Changed album—one of the all-time bestselling albums on any independent label and the first LP known to be entirely produced by women. I introduced listeners to these early pioneers with gusto and tried to keep up with the quickly growing genre with feminist additions like Margie Adam, Ani DiFranco, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Teresa Trull and Barbara Higbie. These were women singing about women, loving women, who were being produced and backed up by women.
I began bringing these women to Utah concert-goers while traveling myself to out-of-state events and volunteering at the Michigan Women’s Music Festival. I never made a profit, but I had a hell of a good time and made many friends in the women’s music industry. Back then, we were a loud group of women becoming more and more empowered by the feminist movement, and some became radicalized as separatist feminists trying to succeed without the help of men. I remember visiting an all-woman-owned piece of land in the Pacific Northwest where they tried to live with as little interface with men as possible—they built all their living structures and bartered with other women for food and supplies. The experiment didn’t last long but some great poetry and music came out of the experience as well as films by the late Barbara Hammer.
Locally, the most successful all-women’s band of the era was My Sister Jane, whose last release was in 1994. It featured Julie Lueders (deceased), Sally Shaum, Trace Wiren, Martha Bourne and Shelly White.
As women’s music labels grew more, non-LGBTQ+ people experienced the songs, but sadly, the mainstream music industry didn’t see this potential added audience and didn’t invest or promote the women. A few did break through, like Fanny—the first all-women’s rock group that opened for Joe Cocker, Slade, Jethro Tull and Humble Pie tours. Olivia Records morphed from releasing albums into offering all-lesbian cruises to gay resorts on sold-out gay voyages. Most women’s labels fell by the wayside by the end of the 1990s.
The women performing, engineering, writing and producing today in the mainstream music industry stand on the backs of the early women’s music giants, whether they are gay or not. Queen Latifa, Sinead O’Connor, Tegan and Sara, Tracy Chapman, Melissa Etheridge, Janelle Monae and so many more successful performers hold back nothing of their LGBTQ+ roots with PRIDE.
- John Taylor
- Charles Lynn Frost in character as Sister Dottie S. Dixon
You Were Our ‘Favert’
Remembering Charles Lynn Frost aka Sister Dottie S. Dixon
By Babs De Lay
Charles Lynn Frost passed away in his sleep on May 19, 2021. He will be remembered by many who were under his tutelage as a drama teacher at high schools in Utah County, an employee and promoter of Franklin Covey systems, and later, a life coach. Most of all, locals might remember him for his outstanding portrayal of a Mormon woman/widow named Sister Dottie S. Dixon that he developed originally on KRCL 90.9 FM radio and then took the character to the stage in the play The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon that sold out every show.
Based in part on his own strong mother who was a terrific cook, Sister made gentle fun of living in Utah as a member of the church with a fictional gay son (Donnie) and their day-to-day escapades: Her marching with the PFLAG group in the PRIDE parade; Donnie’s boyfriends, visiting teachers, Jell-O recipes, etc. Some believed he was a drag queen, but no, Charles was an actor who transformed into a very funny lady for plays and public events. He hated getting dolled up in a wig, nylons and corset underthings to play the part of Dottie.
Charles was a member of AEA/SAG and City Weekly award him Best Actor for his role in the Laramie Project. He won Best Original Play and Best Production for The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon, Second Helpings. He performed off-Broadway and in San Francisco for Facing East and was a frequent award winner from Q Salt Lake readers. KXRK 96.3 FM Radio From Hell listeners got a positive dose of Dottie each week for years and laughed along with her at Dottie’s take on local politics. He and Pat Bagley published The Mormon Kama Sutra, a handbook of sorts of her “favert positions” with cartoons by Bagley.
I knew him for decades as we ran in similar circles at times and supported charities such as the Utah AIDS Foundation. We loved dishing the T to each other, and I loved seeing that impish look in his eyes when he smelled BS in a room. Charles was not a fan of posers.
Sadly, he did not pay attention to selfcare and didn’t go for a colonoscopy for 10 years. When he finally did, he found out he had Stage 4 colon cancer and given a grim prognosis. We had him over to dinner virtually every Sunday during his battle with cancer, and he was a brave gentle soul through it all. He died while taking nap. The world has lost a brilliant talent and a passionate, silly man whom we will miss forever. He leaves four children and many sad grandkids.
