As June Pride month started, I wrote about my new favorite saying on a t-shirt I recently purchased: “Pride is a MARCH not a parade”. I received many positive comments on that blog. We’re just halfway through Pride month, and we have much to celebrate and reflect upon.
DAP Health published an excellent blog: Why Self Esteem and Pride Are Good for Your Heath. It reads: “Every LGBTQ+ person — actually, every person, period — deserves to have pride. It’s important because pride leads to good physical and mental health.”
“Self-esteem is at the core of psychological health,” says Jill Grover, PhD, the clinical supervisor of DAP Health’s Behavioral Health Internship program.”
We march to overcome the opression and to come out from under the shame that so many of us felt early in our lives. From the blog: “Most of us eventually come out proudly, yet still strain to love and take care of ourselves in healthy ways because the falsehoods about who we are stay ingrained in our core. We’re told to have healthy self-esteem after being taught to have shame, but don’t know why or how we are supposed to achieve that.”
“To raise self-esteem, we have to work through and release shame. “Learning to refute and reject old, inaccurate, negative messages from childhood [and society],” Dr. Gover says, “is essential in forming a healthy self-concept.”’
Great advice indeed! I just wish that releasing shame didn’t come in the form of snarky posts and negative comments on the various Facebook groups that I read…
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide on KGAY 106.5 Palm Springs
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Tony Awards
The 77th Tony Awards will be held this Sunday, June 16 at Lincoln Center in New York City, airing live at 5 pm PDT on CBS. Ariana DeBose returns to host for the third year in a row and there will be performances from Cabaret, Hell’s Kitchen, Illinoise, Merrily We Roll Along, Suffs, The Outsiders, The Who’s Tommy, Water for Elephants, and Stereophonic. Theater fans are invited to come to one eleven bar for a 2024 Tony Awards Viewing Party with your fellow Broadway fans Norma Lee High and Veronica Halston, starting at 5 pm. More info
Juneteenth Celebration Festivities
The City of Palm Springs and the Palm Springs Black History Committee will host a Juneteenth Royal Pageant and Celebration Freedom Day on June 14 & 15 at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center. The festivities will include a King & Queen Royal Pageant on Friday, June 14 at 4 pm and the Juneteenth Celebration Freedom Day on Saturday, June 15 from 5–9 pm, featuring educational and cultural activities, live music, free food, camel rides, and a tribute to community leader James O. Jessie. Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States and was first celebrated in Texas in 1865. More info
HRC Bowling for Equality
HRC Palm Springs presents their “No Time to Spare” Bowling for Equality fundraiser on Sunday, June 16 from 2:30–4:30 pm at Palm Springs Lanes. With an ever-increasing number of relentless attacks on our rights in legislatures, across the country and against our LGBTQ+ youth and their families, we have “No Time to Spare” in the fight for equality. Join your fellow HRC members, advocates and allies for a social afternoon of bowling, fun and friends — all while supporting HRC’s work to advance equality for all LGBTQ+ Americans. Join in the Fun!
Echo & The Bunnymen
The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa Rancho Mirage presents Echo & The Bunnymen on Friday, June 14 at 8 pm. One of the most influential British bands in modern history, Echo & The Bunnymen are on tour to celebrate their 40th Anniversary with the songs that have brought the group twenty top 20 hits, including “The Killing Moon,” “Bring On The Dancing Horse,” ‘Never Stop,” “Seven Seas,” and “Nothing Lasts Forever,” and nine top 20 albums so far during their 40-year career. Get tickets
Samara Joy
The McCallum Theatre presents Samara Joy on Saturday, June 15 at 3 pm. Three-time GRAMMY winner (for her Verve Records debut, “Linger Awhile” and Best New Artist in 2022 and this year, for Best Jazz Performance for “TIGHT”), 24-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable label. Get tickets
Firebirds Advance to Calder Cup Finals
The Coachella Valley Firebirds have been crowned the Western Conference Champions! For the second year in a row they’ve made it to the Calder Cup Finals, where they will once again face the Hershey Bears, winners of the Eastern Conference title (and last year’s Calder Cup winners). Games 1 & 2 are this Friday and Sunday, June 14 & 16, in Hershey, PA.
- 📺 All games will be carried live by local TV networks [More info].
- 🎟️ You can buy tickets for home games now, for Games 3 & 4 (and 5, if necessary) on Tuesday, June 18, Thursday, June 20, (and Saturday, June 22 if necessary) at Acrisure Arena where they recently honored LGBTQ+ Pride month with a “Pathway to Pride” 🏳️🌈 rainbow crosswalk. Go Firebirds!
Music Space Odyssey Big Screen Concert Experience
Join Leanna and the Free Agents for a Music Space Odyssey on Friday, June 14 at 6 pm and experience the other-worldly wonders of the galaxy. If you’ve ever wanted to experience the Vegas Sphere, this is a similar concert experience, with the band set directly in front of the largest screen in the entire Coachella Valley. The visuals are stunning, the sounds of the live band and vocals of Leanna will take you to another place. Get tickets
Irene Tu
Revolution Stage Company presents Irene Tu on Saturday, June 15 at 8 pm. Tu is an LA-based stand-up comedian, actor and writer who honed her chops in San Francisco. Her first comedy album We’re Done Now debuted in March of this year at #1 on the iTunes comedy charts. Irene has performed at Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival in the highly coveted “INTRODUCING” showcase. Get tickets
Pride Night at Dodger Stadium
The annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium is Friday, June 14. The party starts at 5:10 pm in the Center Field Plaza with music and drink specials, and the special event ticket package includes a ticket to the game and an exclusive Dodgers LGBTQ+ jersey. Game starts at 7:10 pm against the Kansas City Royals. Get tickets
Palm Springs Certified Farmers’ Market Indoors
The Palm Springs Certified Farmer’s Market is indoors, inside the Palm Springs Pavilion from June to September, Saturdays from 8 am–1 pm. The market features a variety of California Farmers and Value Added Vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, cheeses, honey, organic coffee, flowers, rugelah, prepared foods, soups, herb-infused chocolates, soaps, and more, plus live music by Angie Whitney. Come together with the community and sample the best the Coachella Valley has to offer. More info
LGBTQ+ Archives Pride Month Display
The LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert is showcasing some of its collection at the Welwood Murray Memorial Library in June in honor of National Pride Month. The Pride Month Display highlights the breadth and depth of the donations and acquisitions received during the last five years. The display includes publications, travel guides, commemorative pins, posters, and other memorabilia, viewable during the month of June during regular library hours: Monday–Sunday 10 am–6 pm, with extended hours on Thursday until 8 pm. More info
The Boy Who Could Sing Pictures
The McCallum Theatre presents The Boy Who Could Sing Pictures on Friday, June 14 at 3 pm. Meet Luca, son of the famed jester Bustelo. Yet Luca’s talent transcends expectations; his singing conjures breathtaking visions, unveiling the profound truths of the world and its inhabitants. Get ready to be carried off by this captivating tale and a tapestry of music woven from the works of Villa-Lobos, Piazzolla, Bach, and Beethoven, alongside original compositions by Daniel Kelly. Get tickets
ALSO THIS WEEKEND
Friday, June 14
Senior Scam Awareness Seminar | 12:30–2:30 pm at Mizell Center
Dive-In Movie Series: Trolls Band Together | 7:30 pm at Palm Desert Aquatic Center
Saturday, June 15
PALS Seminar: Forgetfulness & Memory Loss | 9:30–11 am at Center & on Zoom
Dusty Strings Collective: Mojave Rhythm | 5:30–7:30 pm at Palm Springs Cultural Center
