ShortFest is here, Madonna Bar Madame X Launch party, Ruthless! The Musical, The Improvables benefit L-Fund, AJ Lambert, and looking ahead to Monday’s Remembering Stonewall Mixer and Palm Springs Marching at World Pride, plus Hot Deals and Happy Hours!
Wel also have two new original reviews from our Gay Desert Guide Food Writer Charles Drabkin. Find out what a “Film Noir Dinner” is all about with his review ofPS Underground, now in a new permanent location. Charles also visited the new Tac/Quila Mexican restaurant, which he describes as a “beautiful oasis” with “luscious food” that lives up to the sumptuous environment.
ShortFest is Here!
Celebrating its 25th year, the Palm Springs International ShortFest kicked off on Tuesday, June 18 and runs through Monday, June 24. This competitive film festival screens approximately 325 films from over 100 countries and offers a little something for everyone – from comedies to horror, documentaries, family films and everything in between! Full Schedule with descriptions is available online, where you can also pick up individual tickets for screenings, events, and forum panels Here’s a brief look at the upcoming schedule:
Thursday, June 20 | Gay!La The Glow Up!
ShortFest’s annual LGBT Party, at Toucan’s from 9:30–11:30 p.m. More info
Sunday, June 23 | Closing Night Featuring a selection of award winners and audience favorites. Bring your best cruise wears as DJ Val Fleury spins records for this special night time poolside party at the Hilton Hotel. Get tickets
Monday, June 24 | Best of Fest Screenings of Audience Favorites & Jury Award Winners
Madonna Bar – Madame X Launch
Join your fellow Madonna lovers for Madonna Bar, a celebration of her music and launch party for her newest album, Madame X, on Saturday, June 22 at 8:00 p.m. at Hotel Zoso. KGAY & Gay Desert Guide are media sponsors of this event, and 20% of the ticket price goes to support Qchella Media, the non-profit that brings you KGAY. Get Dressed up in your favourite Madonna Era and Dance to Non-Stop Madonna Music from DJ from the 80s to today! Prepare your Rebel Heart to meet Unapologetic Strangers from all over the Drowned World. Get tickets
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Ruthless! The Musical Opens
Desert Rose Playhouse presents Ruthless! The Musical, from June 21–July 14. The show, directed by Loren Freeman and starring Desert Rose Playhouse Artistic Producing Director Robbie Wayne, famously spoofs Broadway musicals from Gypsy to Mame as well as many iconic films including The Bad Seed and All About Eve. Premiering in 1992, the show is responsible for discovering young performers Britney Spears and Natalie Portman.Talented eight year old Tina Denmark, played by Lizzie Schmelling, will do anything to land the lead in her school musical. Anything! As Tina discovers where her talent comes from, she shows us just what it takes to succeed…Get tickets
The Improvables Perform to Benefit the L-Fund
Join the fun-loving improv troupe The Improvables of the Desert for a spontaneous, fast-paced, un-scripted comedy performance on Sunday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. at The Desert Rose Playhouse. The Improvables do short-form improv, also known as theater games, turning audience suggestions into little pieces of comedic gold created on the fly. This is a benefit show for the L-Fund. Get tickets
AJ Lambert Performs the Best of Sinatra’s Concept Albums.
AJ Lambert performs at The Purple Room on Saturday, June 22, bringing her own unique voice to interpretations of songs her grandfather Frank Sinatra sang on his famous concept albums. Hear songs rarely heard outside of the legendary capitol releases – sung by someone who has a specific and intimate insight into the man who shaped them into the classic saloon songs he loved so much, like One For My Baby, Blues In The Night, In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning, Stormy Weather, I’ll Never Smile Again and more. Get tickets
LOOKING AHEAD
Remembering Stonewall June Mixer on Arenas Road
On Monday, June 24th, from 5:00–7:30 p.m., Arenas District welcomes the Desert Business Association and the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce for the 50th Anniversary Block Celebration commemorating the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village. The event will have two fun components: a Progressive Passport will be provided for attendees to get stamped at each of the Arenas District businesses, to be entered into a drawing for a number of prizes. A Stonewall Commemoration will take place at 7:00 p.m.; this brief program will remember what happened at Stonewall in 1969 with speakers and entertainment. More info
March with Palm Springs at World Pride in NYC
The World Pride Celebration takes place this year in New York City , the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, honoring the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising that started it all. Palm Springs Pride will be there, marching in the NYC Pride March on Sunday, June 30 and you can march with the Palm Springs contingent! Join the Facebook group for more info.
Coachella’s SoCal Cannabis Summit
Leaders in government and business will unite in the City of Coachella on Monday, June24 and Tuesday, June 25 to share the future of cannabis policy, share best practices and unveil new opportunities in California’s emerging cultivation hot spot. The City of Coachella’s SoCal Cannabis Summit will kick-off with a Cultivation & Dispensary Bus Tour of the Coachella Valley followed by a opening night networking reception. The second day, the Summit will feature interactive sessions, keynote presentations and panel discussions from top regulators and cannabis industry leaders as well as a business-to-business expo that will be free to the public to attend. More info
At Trio Restaurant, Happy Hour is 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m., daily, with $4 house cocktails, wine and beer, plus discounted prices on premium cocktails! And speaking of premium cocktails, make your reservations now to see Rob Floyd’s Cocktail Theatre (Rob is resident mixologist on the hit TV show Bar Rescue) , coming to Trio for two performances on Saturday, July 6. Each show is an interactive theatrical experience along with some mind-blowing drinks! Get Happy at Trio
Join Roost Lounge daily from 12:00–7:00 p.m. for Happy Hour with well cocktails from $3.75, beer for $2, and wine for $3.25.Don’t miss DJ Galaxy bringing you Musical Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. with the best of stage and screen, extended Happy Hour ’til 9:00, and other drink specials! DJ Galaxy returns on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. with more fun-filled videos and clips!Get Happy at The Roost
Something good is always happening at Oscar’s Cafe & Bar with a casual bar, courtyard, and showroom, dining and live entertainment in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. Their cabaret showroom features world class female & celebrity impersonation, and perhaps the biggest outdoor Sunday Disco Dance on the west coast! Save a ton at Oscar’s with this HOT DEAL: A $25 Gift Certificate for only $15!Get Your Deal
18|8 Fine Men’s Salon is your haven for all men’s hair and grooming services, from ear waxing to manicures and pedicures and everything in between! Located at the historic Kaptur Plaza on Tahquitz Canyon Way, next to the Renaissance Hotel, the team at 18|8 Fine Men’s Salon in Palm Springs is excited to give you an experience every man, especially a man in the desert, needs, and with this HOT DEAL you get $50 in men’s grooming services for just $30! Get Your Deal
Stonewall Ministries is not your parents’ church. Church is not where you come to be told what to believe, but where you discover God’s voice. Whether a person in doubt or a person with faith, alongside others on different paths sharing similar journeys come to be you. Not to be judged. Striving to be a community of acceptance, healing and joy for those denigrated, rejected, ignored or left behind. Service Sundays at 3pm.
