Hitting too close to home: That’s what many in our community are feeling in the wake of the senseless killing of Laura Ann Carleton for displaying a Pride flag in her store in the nearby mountain community of Cedar Glen store.
As we were getting ready for the Center Social celebrating the 10th anniversary of GayDesertGuide, I stopped by Blackbook. I had noticed a huge rainbow flag, a ladder and owner Dean Lavine busily at work orchestrating his crew to hang said flag. He, like many others, were moved to action after the hate crime. Dean’s response was to place the largest rainbow flag he could find on the wall of the bar. It’s simple act of defiance and alliance with a woman who just wanted to show her support of our LGBTQ+ communities. And it ended tragically in her death.
The rhetoric that we’re hearing from the right is having a deadly impact. It doesn’t take much to instigate an already-unsteady person into action. We’ll soon celebrate Palm Springs Pride, and unfortunately I’ll be looking over my shoulder hoping that an incident like this won’t happen in our community.
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide on KGAY 106.5 Palm Springs
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Streetbar Anniversary Celebration
Happy Anniversary to Streetbar! To celebrate 32 years, they are rolling back drink prices to 1991 for their Anniversary Party on Saturday, August 26 from 11am–5 pm. Throw on your best 90’s retro attire and come for entertainment by Billy Wilson, Siobhan, Carlos Iriarte, Tony Greco and Larry Atello. More info
DOGust Birthday Bash
DOGust is the “Official Birthday Month” for shelter dogs, and Animal Samaritans invites you to attend its DOGust Birthday Bash at the Palm Springs Kimpton Rowan Hotel on Saturday, August 26 from 11 am–1 pm. Your minimum $20 donation gets you into the event where you’ll receive lunch bites, wine, and a chance to win prizes. There will also be dogs available for adoption at the event, with all proceeds to benefit Animal Samaritans’ life-saving programs. 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
Whitney Cummings at The Show
The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa Rancho Mirage presents Whitney Cummings on Saturday, August 26 at 8 pm. Cummings is a comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, entrepreneur, and host of the hit podcast “Good for You.” Best known for creating and starring in the NBC series “Whitney,” she is also the co-creator and co-writer of the syndicated Emmy-nominated CBS comedy series “2 Broke Girls.” She has appeared in numerous television shows, films, and stand-up specials, including her fifth stand up special which released on Netflix in July 2022. Get tickets
Broadway to the BIG SCREEN – The Producers
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, August 26 at 4 pm, the featured film is The Producers, a musical that begins and ends with an odd couple – cynical Broadway producer and old ladies lothario Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) and accountant/aspiring producer Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick). In conjuring a surefire plan for profits: they plan to produce the worst show ever, collect lots of financing, and close it after opening night…only director Roger De Bris steps in at the last minute as director, the show is a hit, and the producers are ruined! MeTV 103.1 fm is a proud media sponsor of the Broadway to the BIG SCREEN Film Series! Get tickets
Sing Along With Us – Show Boat
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, August 27 at 3 pm, come sing along to Show Boat. The daughter of a riverboat captain falls in love with a charming gambler, but their fairy tale romance is threatened after his luck turns sour. 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
Sunsets at the Street Fair
The College of the Desert’s Street Fair presents Sunsets at The Street Fair with special evening hours on select dates through the summer. Come enjoy sunset shopping from 6:30–10:30 pm on Saturday, August 26. Your next chance for sunset shopping will be September 23. More info
Lit Flicks: Of Mice and Men
UC Riverside Palm Desert‘s popular book-to-film series, Lit Flicks, presents Of Mice and Men (1992) on Saturday, August 26 at 1 pm the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Itinerant worker George (Gary Sinise) reflects on the time he spent traveling with Lennie (John Malkovich), a huge childlike man. The two men drift through California during the Great Depression, looking for work. After they find jobs on a ranch, Lennie develops an infatuation with the owner’s daughter-in-law (Sherilyn Fenn). However, when George and Lennie are handed an opportunity to own part of the ranch, Lennie’s fascination with the woman threatens to destroy their dreams. This movie, like the others in the series, was adapted from a young adult book that has been banned/challenged. This free screening will be followed by a brief discussion about the adaptation. 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 Sunday, Friday and Saturday. 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].
LOOKING AHEAD
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 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
Click below to sign up for our Gay Desert Guide Oasis Insiders Newsletter to get our Weekly Blog, Top 3 Events for the weekend, Hot Deals and Cool Events all delivered to your inbox every Friday!
On the Air: KGAY 106.5
Win Tickets to Gay Days Anaheim
KGAY 106.5 & Gay Desert Guide welcomes Gay Days Anaheim back September 22–24, and you can win VIP GOLD tickets to join all the handsome princes and the evil queens at Gay Days at Disneyland, a three-day weekend of parties, shows and events that make the happiest place on earth the gayest every year! VIP GOLD tickets get you special admission to shows, meet and greet with performers Zach Zimmerman, Daya Betty, Lady Camden, and Varla Jean Merman, Plunge pool party admission, exclusive VIP cocktail party, gift bag, commemorative pin and more! Enter to win on the KGAY Contest Page!
Win Tickets to Feed the Giraffes
Have you ever wanted to get up-close and personal with the world’s tallest mammal? Do you dream of gazing eye-to-eye with a giraffe while hand-feeding it lettuce? Who doesn’t, right? Well now you can! From now through September 4, The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is giving all full-price ticketed guests a FREE giraffe feeding encounter. Enter to WIN tickets to be used 9/2/23 through 9/4/23 on the KGAY Contest Page!
Vacaya Resort Sweepstakes
You can WIN 7 nights at an all-inclusive resort vacation for 2 during VACAYA’s Mexico Resort Takeover! The complimentary room includes: Beautiful accommodations for 7 nights at Hilton Vallarta Riviera, unlimited standard drinks for length of stay, delicious food in 7 restaurants, including a bountiful buffet open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a fitness center, pool and beach volleyball, kayaking & snorkeling on site, yoga classes, and of course, all the VACAYA signature activities, parties, and entertainment! SIGN UP TO WIN
Win Summer Sing Along Tickets
Musicals are back on the big screen this summer at the Palm Springs Cultural Center and you can WIN tickets from KGAY 106.5 & Gay Desert Guide! Your favorite Broadway musicals that made it on the big screen are on the biggest screen in the valley (with hot buttered popcorn and your favorite beverage) on Sundays at 3 pm, with the Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus leading the Sing Along. More information on the series here and you can enter to win tickets on the KGAY Contest Page!
The KGAY 106.5 Retro Lunch airs Monday through Friday at noon, with DJ Galaxy (Vincent Corrales) and DJ Eric Ornelas playing an hour of their high-energy throwback mixes. On Sundays, we put all five hours together for the Retro Sunday Brunch from 11 am–4 pm. Perfect party music! Listen Online.
The KGAY Sunday Tea Dance with DJ Modgirl airs every Sunday from 4–6 pm (right after the Retro Brunch). DJ Modgirl (AKA Kellee McQuinn) is all about “Music! Dancing! Fashion! Fun!” and she throws down the most irresistible, uplifting beats each week! Listen online. She’s also appearing at The Rowan twice a week: High Bar on Mondays from 7–10 pm and Window Bar on Thursdays from 7–10 pm.
On the Air: 103.1 MeTV fm
Our artists will be naming names this weekend! Join MeTV fm as we celebrate songs that mention at least one first name in the title or in the lyrics. We’ll kick off our Name Game Weekend in the 7 pm hour this Friday evening on 103.1 MeTV fm or listen online! 103.1 MeTV fm is KGAY’s sister station, featuring a unique mix of timeless and memorable music incorporating a wide variety of classic hits, deep tracks and softer sounds spanning several decades of popular music, including the ‘60s and ‘70s with a touch of the ‘50s and ‘80s. Listen online
- Debby Boone – A Song For You
Fri. & Sat. Sep 1 & 2 at The Purple Room Supper Club - Gay Days Anaheim 2023
Sep. 16–18 at Disneyland Resort - Odesza -The Last Goodbye Tour
Wed. Sep 20 at 6:30 pm at Acrisure Arena - Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend
Sep 20–24 at Margaritaville Resort - Pride Under the Pines 2023
Sat. Oct 7 from 12–9 pm in Idyllwild - Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show
Fri.–Sun. Oct 20–22 at the Palm Springs Convention Center - Maximum Thrust – Palm Springs Leather Pride 2023
Oct. 26–29 at various locations around Palm Springs - Palm Springs Food & Wine Festival
Sat. & Sun. Nov 11 & 12 at the Palm Springs Stadium Pavilion - Madonna -The Celebration Tour
Wed. Mar 13 at 8:30 pm at Acrisure Arena
- Idina Menzel Headlines 2023 Palm Springs Pride Festival
- Stuck In The Mud: How Locals Fared Around Palm Springs After Hilary
- Hiking With T: The Idyllwild Area Offers an Abundance of Trails and Outdoor Beauty
- An LGBTQ+ Guide to Better Cruising & Connecting
- The Joslyn Center and Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine Announce Collaboration to Provide Mental Health Counseling to East Valley Residents
Boozehounds is an expansive restaurant and lounge featuring a dog-friendly open-air atrium, along with a cabana bar and patio. The main indoor dining room, main bar, and lounge face the picturesque San Jacinto Mountain Range. Their Southern California menu with a Japanese influence consists of locally sourced and seasonal ingredients that can be paired with a large selection of specialized beers, wine, and unique craft cocktails. You can save big at Boozehounds with our HOT DEAL: Get a $50 gift card for just $35! Get Your Deal
We also have Hot Deals at Coachella Valley Coffee Co., Papa Dan’s Pizza & Pasta, Destination PSP, Rick’s Desert Grill, Hunters Nightclub, Trevor Wayne Pop Art, Kitchen 86, Palm Springs Fine Men’s Salon, The Purple Room, Jolene’s Bar & Lounge, Zin American Bistro and more! See All Deals
Find out what’s happening on any given day by browsing our Gay Desert Guide Online Event Listing Calendar, and for the big picture, take a look at major upcoming events in our 2023-24 Coachella Valley Calendar of Events.
Listen to KGAY 106.5 over the air, stream it [here], or listen on TuneIn Radio with Alexa or Siri by saying “Play K-GAY 1065 from Tune In Radio.” John Taylor is on mornings 6–10 am and program director Chris Shebel is on afternoons. Our Retro Lunch with DJ Galaxy and DJ Eric Ornelas is now heard on Sundays as the Retro Lunch & Sunday Brunch from 11 am–4 pm, followed by DJ Modgirl spinning the KGAY Sunday Tea Dance from 4–6 pm.
Don’t miss “This Way Out,” Sundays at 6:30 a.m. on KGAY 106.5. “This Way Out” is the only internationally distributed weekly LGBTQ radio program, currently airing on some 200 local community radio stations around the world. Listen to the latest episode as a podcast on our streaming page (click “Podcasts” in the upper right hand corner)