Saturday, the Cougar Pride Center will host its annual Pride in Progress march and festival in Provo.

The event starts at 5 p.m, kicking off at the Historic Utah County Courthouse, followed by march to Memorial Park for the festival filled with music, food and drag performances.

The Cougar Pride Center is a student-run LGBTQ+ resource center for Brigham Young University enrollees.

This year’s Pride in Progress will mark the nonprofit’s fourth event in Provo. Executive Director David Shill organized the first Pride march in 2021.

He said the group’s first event drew between 1,000 and 2,000 people. “The first year was interesting because we were just, like, a bunch of random, anonymous students. We’ve grown so much and we’re a 501(c)(3) now,” Shill said.

The march and festival isn’t officially affiliated with BYU, but organizers anticipate a large amount of university students will attend and participate. The free event also is open to the public.

The evening’s rundown looks like this:

• 5 p.m. — Meet at the Historic Utah County Courthouse for speeches.
• 6 p.m. — March down Center Street to Memorial Park.
• 7 p.m. — Pride Festival and concert at Memorial Park.

BYU theater arts student Aaron Rodriguez, who goes by the drag name April Flowers, is one of the artists performing Saturday. Originally from Bakersfield, California, she’s been in Utah for a little under four years and has had to adjust to the culture not only in the state but at the university.

“In Utah, especially BYU, being a queer trans person of color, it’s like my existence is radical for all those reasons. Compared to back in California, being queer, my existence is radical. But here it’s also being a person of color,” Flowers explained.

Saturday will be her first time participating in the Pride in Progress event, but she’s had involvement in previous gatherings for the Cougar Pride Center like the Back to School Pride night last fall.

Ironically, this Pride event comes at the end of the semester, which Flowers describes as a time to honor the work that has been done to create a safe space for queer students.

“For me, Pride and Progress is about celebrating the fact that we’re still here and reminding everyone that we’re not going anywhere anytime soon,” Flowers told the Daily Herald.

The Cougar Pride Center’s motto is to create change through collaborative activism.

Aside from activation events like Pride in Progress, they have also coordinated safe housing for hundreds of individuals, supplied clothing through their Open Closet initiative and other diverse community needs.

Shill says people attending Pride in Progress will be able to discover resources available to them in hopes of helping them feel empowered in knowing there are others just like them in the community.

He says one of his favorite parts about the annual event is seeing queer adults attend, as it sets an example for young students. “I really appreciate having these examples of queer adults that are successful and thriving. And it’s something we don’t get to see as often in this society because there’s just not as many of us,” Shill said.

While Provo City doesn’t host its own Pride march and festival, the Cougar Pride Center was able to secure permits through proper governmental channels for Pride in Progress.

Shill hopes to see a day in the future when he can work with the City of Provo in encouraging them to consider hosting a Pride event.

Those attending Saturday are encouraged to RSVP in advance. Admission is free, but the organization says they are accepting donations.

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