“We are just letting our youth know we are there,” said Genevra Prothero, founder and executive director of the organization.

The free event — now in its second year — goes from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and will be held at Layton Commons Park, 437 N. Wasatch Drive in Layton. More than 60 vendors, organizations and others will have booths at the event, which will also feature speakers, music and performers.

It can be tough at times in conservative Davis County for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth, Prothero said, but there’s “also lots of love and support.” The theme of the festival is “Protect LGBTQIA+ kids,” which Prothero said stems from recent passage around the country of legislation like Utah’s Senate Bill 16, which prohibits gender-affirming surgery on minors.

Broadly, the mission of Davis County PRIDE is to raise the visibility and voice of those in the LGBTQ+ community and let LGBTQ+ youth “know they are loved,” Prothero said.

Image supplied, Davis County PRIDE

Among the speakers Saturday will be Jamie Nagle, a former Syracuse mayor. Other political officials were to speak, Prothero said, but backed out due to backlash they’ve reportedly received.