North Salt Lake puts Night Out cultural events on hold after council meeting

Resident-led Night Out events in North Salt Lake are on hold while city leaders consider how they should proceed, FOX 13 reported. The events over the past four years have included Pride Night, Juneteenth, Latino Heritage and Pacific Islander celebrations. Residents volunteer to chair them, and proposals go to an event committee and then to the City Council for approval. ^[1]

At a recent council meeting, Mayor Brian Horrocks raised concern that letting residents propose events could put the city in the position of supporting events or groups whose messages city leaders may not want to endorse. He asked whether the city would have to advertise, pay for and put its name behind an event from a group it did not want to back. Another council member said a process already exists to ensure organizations are not hosting the events, and that the only organization-hosted event approved was A Boulder Way Forward. ^[1]

The mayor told FOX 13 he had no comment and that the city attorney is reviewing the events and will give an opinion on how they should or should not proceed. Resident Gentry Holbrook said she started a petition calling for the events to continue and that it has drawn significant support, although she said some community members oppose the events. Resident Jacob Gordon, who spoke at the meeting, said getting rid of them would be a mistake. ^[1]