Red and Green are typically Christmas colors. But this weekend, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, then on Saturday it’s the Red Dress / Dress Red Party. Part of my costume arrived from Amazon, but I’ve had the other piece for three years – since the beginning of the pandemic when the party was canceled.
We’re at the three year anniversary of the shutdown. That milestone has been the topic of many of news report, social media post and water cooler talk this week. And what a three years it has been.
But we march on with a full cadre of Springtime activities in the Coachella Valley. Our dance card continues to be filled and there’s no shortage as you’ll read below. Now if we can just string together some 80+ degree sunny days!
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide on KGAY 106.5 Palm Springs
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Red Dress Dress Red 2023
The LGBTQ Center of the Desert presents the SOLD OUT Red Dress Dress Red Party on Saturday, March 18 from 8–11 pm at the Palm Springs Air Museum. This is one of the biggest parties on the year in Palm Springs, a night of community, fun, and fantasy where the theme of “Red” guides our imagination as everyone comes dressed to impress. Drag is not your thing? No worries. An actual dress is not required. Just wear something red. And make sure you’re dressed to impress. Guests will be in everything from red top hot and tails to red sequin and feathers as they dance the night away. More info
On Saturday, March 18, doors open at 9 pm as Reforma Palm Springs presents the Red Dress Dress Red After Party from 10 pm–2 am, with sounds by Guy Schieman and proceeds to benefit The LGBTQ Center of the Desert. Scheiman’s live sets are all about energy beats, combining old and new school vocals that ignite his dance floors and create euphoric experiences. So even if you couldn’t get tickets to the event itself, dance the night away and check out all the Red Dress finery at the red-hot after party! More info
St. Paddy’s Day at Agua Caliente
Agua Caliente Casinos have fun St. Paddy’s Day plans at all three locations on Friday and Saturday, March 17 & 18. In Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage, Irish dancers perform throughout the casino floor on Friday, followed by a special Darby O’Gill & The Little People concert at the Agave Caliente Terraza in Cathedral City on Saturday at 8 pm. In Palm Springs, there will be bagpipe performances every thirty minutes from 6–8:30 pm on Friday, and all three locations will have festive food and drink specials like Shepherd’s Pie, Lucky Blonde Green Beer, Corned Beef Tacos and Irish Margaritas! More info
Desert Open Studios Tour
Desert Open Studios is offering self-guided art-tours that span the Coachella Valley, uniting 150 artists this weekend and next, March 18–19 & March 25–26. The studios are open 10 am–4 pm on Saturdays and 12–4 pm on Sundays. The free, self-guided studio tour, open to the general public, invites art lovers into artists’ workspace, a unique opportunity to meet and talk with individual artists and to buy art directly from them. Discover new artists and start planning your tour now with their handbook. More info
During the Desert Open Studio Tours, visit the South Palm Canyon Art Collective on Saturday and Sunday, March 18–19, to see 10 artists at this one location! They feature a wide variety of artists with all kinds of mediums of art work. Come up to the 2nd floor and check out the fun and creativity. More info
BNP Paribas Championship Weekend
The BNP Paribas Open is wrapping up the largest two-week combined ATP & WTA professional tennis tournament outside of the four majors this weekend at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. This is the Championship Weekend with the ATP and WTA Final matches on Sunday, March 19. And with 20 easily accessible practice courts, the opportunities are endless to encounter tennis’ hottest rising stars and most legendary icons as they prepare to take center stage in the desert. If you can’t make it in person, live coverage is available. Get tickets
Coco Peru is Bitter, Bothered & Beyond
Hotel Zoso presents the one and only Miss Coco Peru for a limited engagement of Coco Peru is Bitter, Bothered & Beyond, now through Sunday March 19. After everything that’s been going on in the world, Coco is ready to unleash her thoughts about the past, present, and future. Yes, this exhausted dinosaur of drag is not holding back anything in her new show! A veteran of numerous feature films (Trick, To Wong Foo…, and the cult classic Girls Will Be Girls), and television shows (How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development, Will & Grace), Coco has also become a viral sensation on social media platforms. Get tickets
Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man
Bus Stop Productions presents Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man in the Tropics Lounge at the Margaritaville Resort on Fridays and Saturdays through May 27, with two shows per night at 7 pm & 9:30 pm. This show has been so popular they’ve extended its run by several weeks! The play is set at a local university auditorium where the English department holds its monthly meet the authors event. Robyn is the shy and studious moderator of the event and this month’s featured author is Dan Anderson of Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man. With the help of a hunky stage assistant named Stefan, Dan aims to turn this meet the authors event upside down with a highly theatrical, audience interactive sex tip seminar. Get tickets
Escape to Margaritaville
Desert Theatreworks presents Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville, playing now through Sunday, April 2. This upbeat and energetic new show features all your favorite Jimmy Buffett classics, including “Volcano”, “Fins”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and of course “Margaritaville.” With a tropical island theme, this heartwarming musical is the party you’ve been waiting for! Get tickets
Kafka’s Joke
Desert Ensemble Theatre presents the world premiere of Kafka’s Joke by Rich Rubin for its second and final weekend of performances, March 17–19 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. On his deathbed, Franz Kafka instructs his best friend Max Brod to burn his unpublished manuscripts. Brod does not destroy his work, believing Kafka is a literary genius. This leads to Kafka’s writings rising to literary prominence decades after his death. Brod then escapes from Nazi Europe with Kafka’s works in 1939, bringing them to Palestine. At the time of Brod’s death in 1968, he left the manuscripts to his secretary. However, Brod’s will is very confusing. Who owns Kafka? A true story based on a 2016 Israeli Supreme Court case. Get tickets
Masters of Harmony at the McCallum
The McCallum Theatre presents Masters of Harmony on Sunday, March 19 at 3 pm. The group was founded in 1985 and chartered as the Foothill Cities, California Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Now based in Santa Fe Springs, the Masters of Harmony has grown from just a few voices to an a-cappella chorus of well over 100 members. They have won nine International Chorus Championships in competition with over 800 choirs. Don’t miss this high-energy extravaganza!. Upcoming shows at the McCallum include: The Kingdom Choir™ (3/24), Katherine Jenkins (3/25), and Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin (3/28 and 3/29). See the full March schedule for the McCallum Theatre with ticket info on our event listing: Get tickets
Fashion Week El Paseo
Indulge your inner fashionista at Fashion Week El Paseo, taking place March 17–23. This is the west coast’s largest runway-to-consumer fashion experience, bringing together internationally recognized designers like Josie Natori, Michael Costello and Nikki Yassemi Wirthensohn, plus emerging talent for a week of runway shows, ranging from resort-ready styles to sheer fantasy. Get access to designers as soon as they step off the catwalk, check out intimate daytime pop-up stores, meet-and-greets, cocktail receptions and much more. Get tickets
Cheeky Charity at The Barracks This Weekend
Cheeky Charity will be at The Barracks for Bingo on Saturday, March 18 from 3–5 pm, plus the Pig Daddy event on Saturday night, and Beer Bust on Sunday afternoon. Also from Cheeky Charity in March: a clothed hike series every Sunday at 10 am at the South Lykken Trail, and nude (clothing optional) hikes every Tuesday and Thursday from 8 am–11 am, meeting in Palm Desert to travel to Mecca for the hike. There will also be an Eisenhower Health panel discussion on March 22, and a Sassy Soiree on March 31 to officially launch Cheeky Charity, whose mission is 100% focused on enabling the early detection of colorectal cancer. More info
Glow in the Park
The wildly popular nighttime event, Glow in the Park, returns to The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens nightly from March 17 through April 30. This spring spectacular new lineup of hand-crafted lantern displays represent wildlife from around the world—and even under the sea. These larger-than-life displays, which feature breathtaking artistry, interactive elements, and a never-ending number of photo-ops, will create a truly unforgettable night for guests of all ages. Get tickets
