Happy Thanksgiving weekend to our locals and visitors to Greater Palm Springs. You’ve made your own choices about where (and whether) to travel and gather, so now we’ll see the collective consequences in the coming weeks. On our #ILoveGayPalmSprings podcast, CV Independent Publisher Jimmy Boegle relates the story of his 19 year-old music writer who is in the throws of COVID-19 and it’s a cautionary tale.
If holiday shopping is on your mind, please #ShopLocal on Small Business Saturday. Amazon and our landfills really don’t need more orders. But our local retailers do. If you can buy it locally, please do so! We have a number of merchants who support GayDesertGuide.LGBT and a few are offering HOT DEALS – gift cards at discounted prices.
Wishing you and yours a safe and sane Thanksgiving holiday weekend!
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide
#WearADamnMask
#ILoveGayPalmSprings
#ILoveGayCatCity
I Love Gay Palm Springs Podcast – Episode 73
Happy Thanksgiving from #ILoveGayPalmSprings hosts John Taylor, comedian Shann Carr and Brad Fuhr of GayDesertGuide.com We’ll catch up with Jimmy Boegle of CVIndependent.com Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce CEO Katie Stice (ranchomiragechamber.org), and Pop Art fun with Trevor Wayne of trevorwayne.com
[Listen] or [Watch]
The I Love Gay Palm Springs Podcast is now available on Apple TV, Roku TV, Amazon FireTV and Android devices via OutAt.tv. Tune in Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. to stream us to your TV! (Also available on demand after it airs).
Thanks to our sponsor:
** Desert AIDS Project Offers Free At-Home HIV Tests: [Get Yours] **
Shop Small This Year
Local organizations from Main Street Palm Springs to the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce and others are reminding and encouraging us to “shop small” this year. That means not just the traditional Small Business Saturday following Thanksgiving, but as much as possible! Take the spend local pledge: “Every gift I buy this holiday season will be either:
- From a local store
- A gift card from a local restaurant, store, attraction, experience, hotel or service
- A donation to a local non-profit
- A ticket to a local virtual charity event
- An item for sale from a local charity
Reel Women’s Film Festival
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest presents the Reel Women’s Film Festival now through Sunday, December 6, celebrating its 7th anniversary virtually this year by streaming online. Your attendance can help support sexual and reproductive health care services for women, ensuring that patients have access to high-quality, non-judgmental care—no matter what. Get tickets
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Holiday Wreath Auction
The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert’s Virtual Holiday Wreath Auction will stream live on Monday, November 30 at 5:30 p.m. Check out the incredible hand made wreaths online and bid on them to brighten up your holiday season. You can preview and bid on wreaths now, and then join the live auction of some wreaths and a special show! Event is free. More info
Alohana! Tiki Marketplace
Alohana Palm Springs takes place on Sunday, November 29 from 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. A partnership with the wildly popular Palm Springs Vintage Market, Alohana is the perfect opportunity to find that one-in-a-million kind of gift and enjoy all the pleasures of a Polynesian paradise pop up without ever leaving the comfort of the desert. Stroll through a tiki marketplace with cocktails, music, and boxed lunches. More info
Help a Homebound Senior This Holiday Season
Mizell Senior Center is collecting donated personal care items to fill over 450 care packages for homebound seniors this holiday season. They need everything from shampoo and shaving cream to soap and toilet paper. Call ahead and you can arrange a contactless drive-through pickup. More info
“Iconicity” Under the Stars
The Palm Springs Cultural Center presents two special Cinema Under the Stars screenings of “Iconicity” with Director Leo Zahn (of “Sinatra in Palm Springs”) in attendance on both Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28. Delve into the fascinating fringe world of the Coachella Valley’s desert artist communities where the spirit of the Wild West lives on, as off-the-gridders and renegade sculptors carve out an existence that challenges what it means to be free. Lot opens at 4:30 p.m., film at 6:00 p.m. Get tickets
Wildlights at The Living Desert
WildLights is celebrating 28 years dazzling guests by transforming the The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens into a sparkling winter wonderland on select nights through December 27, from 6:00–9:00 p.m. Come to this festive, annual tradition and marvel at more than a million colorful, sparkling holiday lights like a herd of life-size, luminescent animal lanterns, newly added pathways and the popular tunnel of lights flashing to holiday music. In true WildLights tradition, the festive G-scale model trains with more than 3,300 feet of track will be decked out for the holidays. Delicious food and beverages will also be available for purchase. Get tickets
LOOKING AHEAD
Hey ladies!–Gay Desert Guide is presenting Virtual Speed Dating for Women of All Ages on Wednesday, December 2 at 6:00 p.m. and hosted by comedian Shann Carr on Zoom. Get out of your jammies and into a cute first date outfit, pour a beverage of your choice and get ready to meet other singles without leaving your home. Join us for several short one-on-one dates (each 5-6 minutes) and then mingle with every lady in the room with chat and games! After the event, submit a list of those you want to see again and you’ll receive contact info for your mutual matches. Get tickets
Christmas in Palm Springs Drive-In Edition
The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus is presenting “Christmas in Palm Springs Drive-In Edition” on Saturday, December 19 at 5:00 p.m. at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. They will be premiering the song “Christmas in Palm Springs,” written by Joel Baker, and the show also includes Ann Hampton Callaway as the special guist with Lenny Broberg as auctioneer. This socially distanced special event is sure to sell out! Get tickets
New Home for Palm Desert Farmers’ Market
Palm Desert’s Certified Farmers’ Market is moving to a new location starting Wednesday, December 2. San Pablo Avenue will be closed between Alessandro Drive and San Gorgonio Way every Wednesday morning for the market, which runs from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., October through April. The move capitalizes on San Pablo’s recently reimagined pedestrian and bicycle friendly design and will begin to realize the centrally located street’s potential as a new outdoor community event space. The market gives you the chance to safely shop for a wide variety of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables from local vendors, with a mouthwatering selection of natural products such as eggs, cheese, honey, coffee, flowers, chocolates, soaps, and more. More info
Creating For the Stage with Dezart Performs
Dezart Performs presents a special free virtual series, Creating for the Stage: Discussions with the People that Make Shows Happen, online every Wednesday through December 2. Featuring actors, designers, creatives, playwrights and directors from their sold out 2019-20 season, the series is optimistic proof of the group’s mission this year: Still Here … and Dreaming. On the next installment, Wednesday, December 2 at 5:30 p.m., Meet the director and cast of SWEAT: actors Desireé Clarke and Cortez Johnson and director Michael Shaw. More info.
Palm Springs 2020 Virtual State of the City
Residents and business owners are invited to join the City of Palm Springs for its annual “State of the City” on Thursday, December 3 from 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. via Zoom, presented by the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Geoff Kors and the four additional members of the Palm Springs City Council will review the city’s accomplishments and share exciting upcoming milestones for 2021. More info
Virtual Events at The Center
Looking for connection in this time of self-isolation? The LGBT Center of the Desert continues to connect people, using the technology of group-meeting platform Zoom, which you can use on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Here’s just a taste of the programs they are hosting:
Social Caring in the Face of Quarantine with Alexis Ortega – Mondays at 11:00 a.m.
Zumba for Beginners with Shaun Samaro – Mondays at 10:00 a.m.
Managing Emotions During a Pandemic with Jill Hingston, Ph.D – Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m.
Conversational Spanish with Guillermo Biro – Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m.
Prostate Cancer Support Group – 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m.
Trans Tuesdays with Jill Hingston, Ph.D – Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.
LGBTQ+ Youth Virtual Hangout with Miguel Navarro – Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m.
Seated Wellness with Lynn Simonson – Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.
Women’s Chat with Kim Kieler – Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.
Men’s Chat with Stuart Huggins – Fridays at 10:30 a.m.
Who Cares: Caregiver Support Group with Perry Wiggins – Fridays at 3:00 p.m.
Making Connections During COVID: Men’s Discussion Group with Arlen Keith Leight, LCSW, Ph.D
1st and 3rd Saturdays at 11:30 a.m.
Full list of The Center’s Zoom programs [here]
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Destination PSP produces unique, originally-designed merchandise including souvenirs, customized apparel, poolside wares, housewares and more. From mod clocks to holiday ornaments, and skin care to swimwear, they are quintissential Palm Springs. With this Hot Deal, get a $15 gift card from Destination PSP for just $10! Get Your Deal
We also have Hot Deals at Dickey’s, Johannes, Il Giardino, Runway, Peepa’s, Pinocchio, Chill Bar, Palm Springs Fine Men’s Salon and more! See All Deals