August 30, 2013 was the day I flipped the switch and GayDesertGuide.LGBT went live on the internet. We joined 672,000,000 other websites in competing for the eyeballs of consumers. (In 1991, there was only one website. How far we have “advanced”!)
We now are the go-to place when people are looking for things to do and places to go in Greater Palm Springs. We have the go-to events calendar for the valley and have helped countless community partners in our first decade.
When KGAY 106.5 was added to Gay Desert Guide, we were able to do much more, and our two entities now nicely complement each other. Our listings editor, Alex McCune, was my first ’employee’ and is still with us. While many others have come and gone, each made a contribution to our growth and success. So I want to take a moment to acknowledge them, our many advertisers and partners, and of course, you, dear readers 🙂 Let’s see what the next decade brings!
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide on KGAY 106.5 Palm Springs
For the latest, follow our socials @GayDesertGuide and @KGAY1065 and listen to KGAY Palm Springs wherever you may be!
#ILoveGayPalmSprings #ILoveGayCatCity #ILoveGayTravel #ILoveGay #SayKGAY #FindYourOasis
P.S. Here’s what the site looked like around our launch:
DBA Networking Mixer at Realty One
The Desert Business Association (DBA) presents a Networking Mixer on Monday, August 28 from 5:30–7 pm at Realty One Group Rancho Mirage, a full service real estate brokerage with an “UNtraditional” way of doing business, supporting a unique culture that supports the success of its agents and their clients. Realty One Group Mirage is participating with the Greater Palm Springs Realtors “Drive to Survive” food drive benefiting The Center’s Food Bank. If you would like to bring food to donate to the event, they will gladly accept your donation. More info
The Purple Room Kicks off Fall Season
Michael Holmes’ Purple Room Supper Club returns from a summer hiatus this week, opening Tuesday, August 29 with Jazz legend Rose Mallett. The returning weeknight talent continues on Wednesday with Charles Herrera, Darci Daniels & Michael Holmes swinging to the music of the Rat Pack era, and the sassy Sharon Sills singing on Thursday, each weeknight’s entertainment going from 6:30–9:30 pm. This weekend, Debby Boone performs on both Friday and Saturday, (Dinner at 6 pm, show at 8 pm) and the spirit of Judy Garland is alive and well as The Judy Show returns on Sunday, September 3 (Dinner at 5 pm, Show at 7 pm). Get tickets
“HARPY” Hour Fundraiser
H+ARP (HIV + Aging Research Project) Palm Springs invites you to a “HARPY” Hour Fundraiser to help them help people aging with HIV in our community on Tuesday, August 29 from 5–7 pm at One Eleven Bar. There will be a raffle and prizes. Please come and support our community! More info
PALS Circle Moves to Wednesdays
The PALS (Planning Ahead for LGBTQ Seniors) weekly drop-in meeting, PALS Circle, is moving to Wednesday evenings from 6–7 pm via Zoom. PALS Circle has no agenda, no topic, it’s like getting together at Grandmother’s house every week. Come for connection, support, or planning ahead before a health issue; join the call and make new friends. Hosted by Allen Luke. More info
Drive to Survive! The Race Against Hunger
The Greater Palm Springs Realtors summer food drive, Drive To Survive! The Race Against Hunger, benefiting the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert’s Community Food Bank, is happening now thru September 15. Food insecurity is real, and together we can help ease the burden on our hungry neighbors. You are invited to drop food items off at the Greater Palm Springs Realtors office from 9 am–5 pm on Mondays and 8 am–5 pm on Tuesdays–Fridays. They’re accepting nonperishable food items, or you can also make monetary donations to support the critical services that the food bank provides. More info
Desert Art Woman Gallery: “Resurgence”
The Desert Art Woman Gallery presents Resurgence from September 1–30, with a Soft Show Opening and Reception on Friday, September 1 from 5–8 pm. This all-female/non-binary art show welcomes programming partner Wyld Womxn Feminist Art Collective. Curated by Adriana Lopez-Ospina, Lauren Bright of Wyld Womxn, and Juliette Vos of Desert Art Woman Gallery, the exhibit explores our community of artists and how they are transitioning (or not) back into the world. This exhibition holds visual representations and deep reflections on what we have collectively and individually survived. More info
Donna MacMillan Exhibit Closing Soon
The Palm Springs Art Museum exhibit, So Many Songs We Have Yet To Play: Gifts of Donna MacMillan, is on display just two more weeks, through September 3, in the main museum. This exhibition celebrates Donna MacMillan’s numerous contributions to the museum over the years and especially recognizes her recent donation of 68 objects. Characterized by incredible breadth, her donations span a wide range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, prints, photographs, video, and electronic art. She has gifted objects by both established art icons and emerging artists, works of simple beauty as well as those both thought-provoking and challenging. The museum is open 10 am–5 pm on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. On Thursday the museum is open from noon–8 pm. (Free admission on Thursdays from 5–8 pm – funded by the City of Palm Springs). Get tickets
The Coachella Valley Independent‘s annual Best of Coachella Valley reader’s poll is now accepting nominations, a fill-in-the-blank round that is open through Tuesday, September 5. We would love a repeat of our wins last year! Write-in your nominations for Best Local DJ under the “Arts” section: KGAY 106.5 Retro Lunch Djs: DJ Eric Ornelas and DJ Galaxy, and DJ Modgirl of the KGAY Sunday Tea Dance! Then, under the “Life in the Valley” section, for Best Local Radio Personality please consider John Taylor of the KGAY 106.5 Morning Show, and finally, also under “Life in the Valley,” for Best Radio Station, please nominate KGAY 106.5! Nominate Today
Feed a Giraffe for Free
Now through Labor Day, The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens will be giving all full-price ticketed guests a FREE giraffe feeding encounter. Create an unforgettable memory while visiting The Living Desert, voted one of the 10 Best Zoos in the U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler. Do you live here and not visit the Zoo? You’re missing out! And a yearly membership will pay for itself in two or three visits! More info
🦒WIN Labor Day Weekend tickets to The Living Desert on the KGAY Contest Page!🦒
Country Dance Fridays
Dance Ranch Palm Springs presents Country Dance Fridays, a great night of country western dancing, including two-step, waltz, shadow, East and West Coast swing and line dances, every Friday from 7–9:30 pm at Step by Step. The dance lesson is at 7 pm with dancing from 7:30–9:30 pm. Dance Ranch Palm Springs is a country western dance group serving the LGBTQ+ community and its friends. Country dancers of all levels are welcome. More info
Visitor Map & Guide Summer Edition
The Summer 2023 edition of our Gay Desert Guide Visitor Map & Guide (great for locals too) is available now around town and online! We help you find everything you need to know while visiting or living in the Coachella Valley, featuring the top places for Food & Drink, Nightlife, Shopping, Attractions, Gay Resorts with passes, Dispensaries and other services. You can also view it online, and download the PDF [here].
THIS WEEKEND
Cirque du Soleil: Corteo
Cirque du Soleil brings their show, Corteo, to Acrisure Arena for four shows, starting Thursday, August 31 at 7:30 pm. Corteo, which means cortege in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth. Additional performances are on Saturday, September 2 at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm, and Sunday, September 3 at 1 pm. Get tickets
Rio del Sol Elements Dusty Shoe Preview
Be one of the first to preview Elements, the new community at Rio del Sol in Cathedral City on Saturday, September 2 from 11 am–4 pm. If you’re not afraid of a little dust, you can join the Dusty Shoe Preview and you could receive a $25 El Patron gift card, enjoy some food and fun, and say hi to John Taylor, host of the KGAY Morning Show, who will be on-site broadcasting live from 11 am–1 pm! In addition to all of that, you will have the opportunity to win a pair of tickets plus parking for the the Madonna Celebration Tour date at Acrisure Arena on March 13, 2024! More info.
Broadway to the BIG SCREEN – West Side Story
Every Saturday this summer, the Palm Springs Cultural Center presents the great musicals that made it from Broadway to the BIG SCREEN (and sometimes back again). On Saturday, September 2 at 4 pm, the featured film is West Side Story (1961), a modern musical representation of the classic story “Romeo and Juliet.” Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs (the Jets and the Sharks) fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy. It’s a dazzling musical and an all too common tale of ethnic gangs and gang violence set to music and dance. MeTV 103.1 fm is a proud media sponsor of the Broadway to the BIG SCREEN Film Series! Get tickets
Sing Along With Us – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The Palm Springs Cultural Center presents classic movie musicals in the Sing Along With Us Film Series all summer long, on the largest screen in the valley at the Historic Camelot Theatre. The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus will lead the singing. On Sunday, September 3 at 3 pm, come sing along to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the 1967 classic starring Robert Morse, Rudy Vallee, Michele Lee, Anthony Teague, and Maureen Arthur. A lowly window cleaner dreams of making it big in the business world. After finding a copy of the book “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” Finch decides to apply the tactics in the book to his own life. Soon, he’s working as a mailroom clerk at the World Wide Wicket Company and quickly fighting his way up the corporate ladder with relative ease in this quirky musical based on the hit Broadway production. Gay Desert Guide and KGAY 106.5 Palm Springs are proud media sponsors of the Sing Along With Us This Summer Film Series! Get tickets
For all events checkout GayDesertGuide.com
