The Park City Council on Thursday will undoubtedly proclaim June to be Pride Month in the city, a decision that fits with City Hall’s social equity agenda and one that will be supported by large segments of the community in one of the state’s few left-leaning bastions.
The month is expected to include the flying of pride flags in some locations controlled by the municipal government and banners with a pride theme on Main Street during the month. There is also the possibility leaders will extend events into July or later, perhaps with a mural on municipal grounds close to the highly visible intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive.
June, it appears, will be a worthy celebration of the LGBTQ+ community of Park City, a population that adds to the fabric of the town and is a key part of the social equity goals that so many of us support.
Park City as it finalizes the plans for Pride Month, though, needs to proceed with caution as it considers one of the possible aspects of the celebration. A report provided to Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council covering the various options for June mentions one calling for municipal buildings to be illuminated, presumably in the rainbow colors of the movement.
The report identifies the barn at the McPolin Farm, to many the symbol of Park City, as a potential location and, wisely, says more discussions would be held before the large building would be lit in colors in honor of Pride Month.
Park City would like to believe bathing the barn in rainbow colors for a month would win universal support, but we expect that would not be the case in a community of people with various political stripes, religions and personal beliefs.
The barn is a part of Park City’s identity — the backdrop of photograph after photograph and the anchor of a prized swath of open space — and the mayor and City Council will need to decide whether it should be employed in a manner that could draw a range of responses from the populace. There is also the possibility of other movements, some clearly out of touch with the DNA of Park City, seeking the same high-profile opportunity at the barn.
Pride Month starts in a matter of days, leaving little time for discussion about the barn before June begins. The decision of Park City leaders needs to be properly tinted.