Awards season is still happening! First it was KESQ / CV Independent’s readers poll. Now KGAY 106.5 is recognized as the “Best Radio Station” by readers of the Desert Sun! I can also report that DJ ModGirl, shown here with her “Best DJ” award, will be joining the KGAY lineup on Sunday afternoons on January 1st. And my good friend James Mortensen joined the fray with an award for “Best Wine Bar”. While the awards were a bit rushed, it was a great night for our Coachella Valley businesses to shine.
Jackie Beat’s “War on Christmas” is happening at Oscar’s. She talked on air about what’s happening around the country with drag performers being trolled and threatened by far right extremists. John Taylor will be at Oscar’s with DJ Galaxy on Christmas Day as the restaurant opens its doors to the food insecure.
There are many ways you can give back this holiday season. Find details in our blog or on the ever-popular events calendar of GayDesertGuide.LGBT.
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide & 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 (and win!)
STARS – A Galaxy of Song, presented by Modern Men
Modern Men – Coachella Valley Men’s Chorus presents STARS: A Galaxy of Song on Saturday, December 10 at 7 pm and Sunday, December 11 at 3 pm at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. This exploration of the musical repertoire extols the inspiration and awe we enjoy when we look heavenward, while musing on the wonder of those bright sentinels in the sky. In addition to some of your seasonal favorites, the chorus will delight with some of the chorus world’s most beautiful music by such renowned composers as Morton Lauridsen, Carol Bayer Sager, David Dickau and others. A portion of each ticket sold for these performances will benefit the Manilow Music Project. Get tickets
10 Years of Tails Open House
The Palm Springs Animal Shelter presents their 10 Years of Tails Open House on Saturday, December 10 from 10 am–2 pm. This will be a celebration of the 10 years of serving the community and the extraordinary life saving efforts of the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter. Bring your friends, family, and pets for free microchipping, holiday gifts and deals in the retail store, holiday photos with your pet, activities, giveaways, snacks, cake, and $10 adoptions. More info
Fun Home
CVRep presents Fun Home from December 6–18. Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Fun Home is a musical adapted from Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. Follow Alison as she uncovers the secrets through three different ages in her life. Fun Home isn’t just a coming-of-age or coming out story, but one that sets out to unravel the many mysteries of childhood through which we can all identify. Get tickets
Our theatre reviewer Stephen Radosh says of this production of Fun Home: “Under the excellent direction of Adam Karsten, the play is in constant motion with scene changes taking on an almost cinematic feel. His cast delivers uniformly strong, powerful performances.” Read his full review [here].
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas The Musical
Desert Theatreworks presents Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, The Musical from December 9–23, a musical stage adaptation of the beloved 1954 holiday film. Veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have a successful song-and-dance act after World War II. With romance in mind, the two follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge. With a dazzling score featuring well-known standards including “Blue Skies,” I Love a Piano,” How Deep Is the Ocean,” “Snow,” and the perennial title song, White Christmas is a family-friendly holiday show bursting with cheerful dancing, treasured tunes and a generous helping of yuletide cheer. Get tickets
Do Not Remove Label – Final Weekend
Desert Ensemble Theatre presents Do Not Remove Label, a world premiere by Jerome Elliott Moskowitz, through December 11. It’s Hanukkah 1966, and 12-year-old Tommy and his newly widowed mother Tammy are making latkes, preparing to celebrate. A missing label on the sofa triggers an ill-timed visit from the FBI and Hanukkah is turned upside down. Can the next-door neighbor Cookie Balinsky save the day with Rugelach and good cheer? Get tickets
Palm Springs International Film Fest 2023 Lineup + Giveaway
The Palm Springs International Film Festival has released the lineup and schedule for the 2023 festival, which runs January 5–16. Plan ahead and get ready for individual ticket sales to open [More info]. Passes are on sale now, and KGAY 106.5 has your chance to WIN a 4-pack of passes! This is one of the largest film festivals in North America featuring twelve extraordinary days of screenings and special events with celebrity appearances and post screening discussions. Enter to win on the KGAY 106.5 Contest Page
Holiday Singin’ & Swingin’ with California Desert Chorale
The California Desert Chorale celebrates the holiday season with its 30th annual Winter Concert, “Holiday Singin’ & Swingin’,” led by Artistic Director Tim Bruneau and performed by 32 choristers accompanied by a chamber orchestra. Presented in two acts, the festive concert is performed on Sunday, December 11 and
Sunday, December 18 at 3 pm at the Hope Lutheran Church in Palm Desert. More info
December at The McCallum
The McCallum Theatre presents The Storm Large Holiday Ordeal on Friday, December 9 at 8 pm. What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with Storm Large? Storm will love you, leave you, delight you and abuse you with a wicked charm and stunning vocals that will have you begging for more. Adult language. Coming up at the McCallum: Alton Brown Live (Dec. 12), The Desert Symphony Presents Bruce in the USA (Dec. 17), Merri-Achi Christmas (Dec. 18), and Dave Koz & Friends 25th Anniversary Christmas Tour (Dec. 19). Get tickets
Jose Sarria Panel Discussion and 3 Film Screenings
A special exhibit of Jose Sarria: Legendary Drag Queen and LGBTQ+ Activist (1922–2013) is on display at the Welwood Murray Memorial Library in the main room through December 15. This weekend, a Jose Sarria Panel Discussion will take place on Saturday, December 10 from 6:30–8 pm at the library’s community room, featuring Andrew Shaffer from the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. On Sunday, December 11, the library will host screenings of three films. At 10:30 am: Queen of the Capital is a feature documentary about DC bureaucrat by day, drag queen by night, Muffy Blake Stephyns. At 12 pm: 50 Years of Fabulous, this film recounts the rich history of San Francisco’s Imperial Council, the oldest LGBT charity organization in the world, founded by Sarria. Finally, at 2 pm: Nelly Queen: the Life and Times of Jose Sarria is a feature documentary on the life of Jose Sarria, the first openly gay American to run for office in 1961. The drag cabaret performer was an early and leading champion for equality for homosexuals in San Francisco 15 years before Stonewall. More info
