Matlovich was an ex-Air Force sergeant and recepient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and also a gay Mormon.Īs the heady “Gay Power Days” of the 1970s began to wane, a fragmented community ravaged by the onslaught of a conservative backlash tried to hold scaled-down celebrations.
The most ambitious of these celebrations was a festival and conference held in 1977, which featured Sgt. Over the next three years Gay Freedom Days were promoted mainly by the Gay Service Committee and the Salt Lake Coalition of Human Rights. A shuttle service from local gay bars provided additional transportation. Sponsored by the Gay Community Service Center, it was held in City Creek Canyon where festivities included free beer, food, soft drinks, volleyball, an all-day “do your own thing” talent revue and sing-a-long, games for prizes and a white-elephant auction.
The first official community-wide sponsored Pride celebration was called “Gay Freedom Day” and was held June 1, 1975. Over 200 gay men and women celebrated “Gay Pride” along the shores of the Great Salt Lake at, what was once known as, “Bare Bum Beach.” A “Beer Bust Kegger,” sponsored in 1974 by Joe Redburn owner of the Sun Tavern, was the first attempt at bringing people together to celebrate the emergence of an openly gay community in Utah.
