Celebrating our diversity takes no respite! Case in point: Riverside’s Inland Empire Pride celebration is happening this weekend. Later in September, we turn Disneyland red with Gay Days Anaheim.
And September has two major LGBTQ+ events in Palm Springs: Cinema Diverse film festival and Club Skirts Dinah Shore weekend – overlapping this year!
October welcomes Pride Under the Pines and Pride on the Page to the area just ahead of Leather Pride and Palm Springs Pride. It’s a dizzying fall of diversity. As Gay Desert Guide starts its 11th year, we keep you updated on everything online. This month’s downloadable calendar is ready to hang on your fridge so you can keep track.
Summer certainly went by quickly. The returning “Sweatbirds” will soon be joined by “snowbirds”. And we’ll be back to another season in #ILoveGayPalmSprings!
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
Arenas District Fundraiser for Palm Springs AIDS Memorial
Arenas District Businesses—Blackbook, QuadZ, Hunters, Streetbar, Gaymart, and Chill Bar—have come together over the extended Labor Day Weekend and into this week (now through Thursday, September 7) to host fundraisers for the Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Sculpture. Arenas Road patrons will be able to learn more about the memorial, see the artist’s maquette (model) on display at each business on different days, and donate towards project completion. Every contribution made on Arenas will be matched up to $15,000 by Craig Attebury and GayMart in memory of Tim Foutch. The envisioned permanent AIDS memorial is designed by local artist Phillip K. Smith, III and would be located in the new Downtown Palm Springs Park. More info
Check Out Our Downloadable Calendar
Our Gay Desert Guide Events Channel always has the latest, continually updated calendar of events for day-by-day viewing, but sometimes you just want a quick overview of what’s coming up, in a beautiful, downloadable, printable calendar…and we have just the thing! Download our 2023-24 Calendar of Events (updated monthly) to see what’s coming up in the days, weeks, and months ahead. It’s a great time to look ahead as we head into season, with events coming up like The Dinah, Pride Under the Pines, Pride on the Page, Modernism Week October, Palm Springs Pride (and Leather Pride), and Palm Springs Food & Wine Fest, just to name a select few of the more than 30 highlighted events between now and early December. Check it out
Best of Coachella Valley Nomination Round Ends Tuesday
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
The Purple Room: Back in the Swing
Michael Holmes’ Purple Room Supper Club weekday entertainment is back, featuring Tuesdays with Jazz legend Rose Mallett, Wednesdays with Charles Herrera, Darci Daniels & Michael Holmes swinging to the music of the Rat Pack era, and the sassy Sharon Sills singing on Thursdays. Each weeknight’s entertainment goes from 6:30–9:30 pm. This weekend: on Friday, September 8 it’s Scot Bruce performing Elvis: The Yearly Years, and on Saturday, September 9, Brenna Whitaker takes the stage. On Sunday, September 10, the spirit of Judy Garland is alive and well with Michael Holmes performing The Judy Show! Get tickets
Boozehounds Desert Collab Series
Four guest chef collaborations, Four dinners, Four nights only! The Desert Collab Series is a chef’s dinner series at Boozehounds Palm Springs, featuring guest chef collaborations on select special nights, starting Wednesday, September 6 from 6–9 pm with Executive Chef Aric Ianni. Come for unbeatable vibes, live music, and of course incredible cuisine and drink pairings. This is a pop up series you won’t want to miss. Get tickets
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
PALS Death Cafe
PALS (Planning Ahead for LGBTQ Seniors) presents a Death Cafe on Thursday, September 7 from 2–3 pm on Zoom. A Death Cafe is a group-led open conversation about death and dying; and in doing so to live life more fully. It is not a counseling or bereavement group; and there is no agenda, specified topics, or designated outcomes. Join the conversation, bring your curiosity and questions, and engage in a discussion about the aspects of death and dying that interest you. More info
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
