Utah Arts Alliance presents the SLC White Party~
We love to party, we love to celebrate identity and expression! In Utah, the community you party with is our chosen family for a lot of us. This year, 2021 will be the 21 year anniversary of the SLC White Party and we have decided to postpone the party until further notice. The public health mandates and the health of our friends and family are paramount, so we are gonna put our dancing shoes on and wait it out for a few months.
History of the White Party~
In the 1970s there were a lot of people fighting for their rights and making changes in the socially accepted lifestyles, the goal: for everyone to live, love, and party freely! The host of the first White Party in history was an artist, Chuck Renslow, an openly gay American businessperson, known for pioneering homoerotic photography in the mid-20th-century US, and establishing many landmarks of late-20th-century gay male culture, especially in the Chicago area. Chuck founded Chicago’s August White Party on August 8, 1974, when he hosted a party to celebrate his birthday and thank his patrons. It was then held for the next 36 years until 2010. The largest party was held in 1979 at Navy Pier with 5,000 participants.
The party inspired more White Parties in NYC and Miami in the 1980s, Salt Lake City, UT the first being the year 2000 as well as around the world in Montreal, Pattaya, Arosa, Hong Kong, Paris, and Dubai. Utah Arts Alliance is proud to be the home of the SLC White Party and affirming that everyone deserves the same right to live, love, and party freely
