North Salt Lake celebrated a summer of unity with a Pride month event on June 26 that drew vendors, food trucks and neighbors from the Davis County community.

This is the second event of the summer’s “Unity in the Community” series, which aims to celebrate diversity and bridge understanding within the community. The first event was the North Salt Lake Juneteenth celebration on June 19.

North Salt Lake City Council Member Alisa Van Langeveld said that the idea for the event series came after the city made an official declaration last year to celebrate Juneteenth. 

“I asked what the city could do to be more inclusive and supportive throughout the year,” she said. 

A committee of community members recommended having similar events to celebrate and connect other minority populations in the city, and the Unity in the Community series was born. 

“The idea is for locals to come and to celebrate those in our community,” Van Langeveld said. “This is an exciting way to make sure everyone in Davis County feels like this is a wonderful place to live and they have a place here.”

The Unity in the Community events are additions to the weekly vendor fair and food truck night held every Monday at Legacy Park in North Salt Lake. The same vendors and food trucks are still there, but with additional booths and activities related to the night’s celebration. 

At Pride Night, Cara Cerise and Bree Taylor-Lof represented Friends, Allies, and Mentors (FAM), a group of educators whose mission is to ensure that Utah schools are safe for all students. Cerise said they sponsor book clubs with LGBTQ-inclusive books, offer professional development for educators seeking to better support LGBTQ students and hold monthly events for educators to connect and find support. 

Cerise said the Pride event was a great way to help those who are feeling isolated to discover a sense of community in North Salt Lake.

“You absolutely are not alone,” Cerise said. “There is a huge community of educators and beyond who are really supportive of the LGBTQ community and want everybody to thrive.”

Taylor-Lof added that they hoped the event would encourage members of the community to get involved.

“We need our allies and our LGBTQ community members to be speaking up and standing up for that representation and inclusion,” Taylor-Lof said.

Several other LGBTQ organizations were represented at the event. Jennifer Wennergren, director of events and regional groups for Mama Dragons, said she hoped Pride Night would encourage education on LGBTQ issues. 

“If we could get one affirming parent into [an LGBTQ child’s] life, it reduces suicide by over 40%,” she said.

Wennergren said Mama Dragons aims to support, educate, and empower anyone mothering an LGBTQ child. The group focuses on education and suicide prevention training. 

According to The Trevor Project, LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, but those who live in communities that are accepting of LGBTQ people are at lower risk of suicide. 

North Salt Lake Mayor Brian Horrocks said he looked forward to cultivating unity in the area.

“We're a tight-knit community,” he said. “Everyone is welcome here.” 

The next two Unity in the Community events will be announced on the City of North Salt Lake website.