The Southern Utah Pride Association (SUPA) held its sixth annual parade and festival this weekend in Springdale, the gateway to Zion National Park.

About 700 people - from French tourists to Washington County locals - lined Zion Park Boulevard to watch the parade, which temporarily blocked traffic to the park.

"Utah has queer legislators. Can you believe it?" Rep. Christine Johnson, a Salt Lake City Democrat who is openly gay, shouted to a cheering crowd.

A 20-foot tall Barack Obama puppet, a Sarah Palin poser and a group of Stonewall Democrats followed. Josie Valdez, a Democrat hoping to be Utah's lieutenant governor, draped herself in American flags and waved to potential voters.

SUPA President Chris McArdle hoped the event - the group's biggest yet - would finally provide the momentum and cash needed to launch St. George's first gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community center. He won't know until next week how much money was raised through sales of the festival's $15 tickets.

In Washington County - a conservative bastion in even the reddest of red states - nonprofit SUPA has struggled to gain broad-based support from Southern Utah donors and political leaders. Nevertheless, this year's attendance more than doubled to 2,500 from last year's 1,000 attendees. More than two dozen groups marched or cruised in the parade and 80 vendors and nonprofits pitched booths.

"There's no comparison. This one is light years ahead," said Nikki Boyer, head of Utah's Stonewall Democrats. She has attended five of the past six years.

The pride festival, McArdle stressed, provides an important venue for gay people who may have felt ostracized to feel empowered by who they are.

He wants youth especially to see that "you can be a gay person and part of society."

Kat Thomas and Jessica Malchow, two 20-year-olds from St. George, have been coming to the pride festival for the past two years.

"It's just so open. You feel free to be yourself," Malchow said.

Thomas agreed. "You don't have to play PC [politically correct] here. At work you pretty much have to pretend like you're straight unless you're asked."

Attendees came largely from Washington County, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

Brian Minjares traveled from Clearfield. He prefers the Springdale event to Salt Lake City's annual pride festival, which draws tens of thousands of people.

"It's more personal, more intimate," he said.

Shelley Robinson, of St. George, marched in the parade with PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to support gay youth and her own 26-year-old gay son, who watched from the sidelines. She recalled an incident when her son, as a teen, found the word "fag" carved into his high school locker.

"It's hard to be gay in St. George," she said, wearing a rainbow-striped hat and armband. "We're here to take a stand . . . letting people know it's OK."

rwinters@sltrib.com