Gay Desert Guide Weekend: June 1–3, 2018 - Gay Desert Guide Palm Springs

This Weekend in #ILoveGayPalmSprings
June 1–3, 2018

Let us be your Gay Desert Guide to the weekend: Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week starts this weekend, a new Queen of the Desert will be crowned, Pride Month is underway with LA Pride (and many more), Justin Busch performs, get ready to take a Walk on the Warm Side and enjoy Jazzville, and mark your calendars for upcoming theatre. Also don't miss this week's Hot Deals and Happy Hour Finder highlights!

Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week Starts Friday June 1

Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week is a mega-week (17 days, really!) of deals at restaurants throughout the Coachella Valley. This is a tremendous opportunity to experience your favorites as well as discover something new! Participating restaurants offer special menus at set prices with lunches available for $15, $20 or $25 and dinners for $29, $39 or $49. For a chance to win an overnight stay at Hotel Paseo, take a picture of your food and post to social media with the hashtag #dineGPS (and don't forget to add our hashtag #ILoveGayPalmSprings). Check our link for a list of participating restaurants. More info

Queen of the Desert to be Crowned Friday June 1

Ethylina Canne returns to host the 5th annual Queen of the Desert So-Cal lip sync competition benefiting Desert AIDS Project on Friday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m. Six drag queens compete for the title of Queen of the Desert, decided by a panel of local celebrities, while attendees vote for their Fan Favorite by donating dollar bills. This event is sold out, but you can participate now and cast your vote online for Fan Favorite!
Visit desertaidsproject.org/qotd2018

A Walk on the Warm Side – Warm Sands Open House June 5

On Tuesday, June 5 from 4:00–7:00 p.m. the Warm Sands Neighborhood Organization hosts the first-ever Walk on the Warm Side, an opportunity for locals to discover the neighborhood's hospitality gems. Stroll along quiet, palm tree fringed streets and choose which resorts you wish to visit from a map you will receive along with a wrist band at the registration table. Gay Desert Guide is the primary media sponsor of this special event and we will see you at the registration table! Your donation to participate ($10 suggested) will go to health and safety improvements in our community. Pre-Register Today

LA Pride Week Starts Saturday June 2

LA Pride 2018 kicks off on Saturday, June 2 with nearly 10 days of events, community programs, and so many ways to show your Pride and express this year's theme: #JUSTBE – Pride week begins with LGBT Night at Universal Studios Hollywood™ – an exclusive after-hours experience with full park access, DJ's, dance clubs, cash bars (21+), and more. The following weekend (June 9–10), the City of West Hollywood will play host to the 48th annual LA Pride Parade and Festival—an amazing weekend of self-expression, community, good times, and great memories. For more information on these and a number of Pride events scheduled for the week in-between, click here.

For a lineup of other California pride festivals over the next 30 days, including Laguna Beach, Venice, Orange County, San Francisco, and Sacramento, visit our Pride Events page!

Trio is lively and upbeat all year long, but that's especially true during Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week (June 1–17), when they offer a 3-course meal for $29. You can make this an even better value by taking advantage of this Hot Deal: Receive a $50 gift card for just $35! That's a 30% savings to be used on lunch, dinner and/or drinks!

Coachella Valley Coffee Company is down to earth, good for the earth, and one of the best coffee roasters you'll meet! Share Roastmaster General Cliff's love for great coffee at a great discount with this Hot Deal: $7 off Desert Sunrise Blend! That's nearly 50% off! Start your mornings with the Coachella Valley's finest at a price that can't be beat. LGBT owned and a member of the DBA Desert Business Association.

Get Your Hot Deals

CVRep Announces 2018-2019 Season

Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre has announced their 2018-2019 Season of Plays: "A handful of …isms" featuring four productions, including one rock opera musical that explores a handful of …isms, such as: Socialism, Racism, Classism, Sexism, etc. The first two productions of the season will be at their current location: CVRep at The Atrium in Rancho Mirage, while the second two productions will take place in the company's new home: The CVRep Playhouse in Cathedral City. Mark your calendar:

Lebensraum, by Israel Horovitz – Oct. 24–Nov. 18, 2018
White, by James Ijames – Jan. 23–Feb. 17, 2019
Chess, by Richard Nelson and Tim Rice – March 13–31, 2019
Good People, by David Lindsay-Abaire – May 1–19, 2019

Plus, Gay Desert Guide is proud to welcome “this is a blank page, a story in motion”
Dance Performance & Choreography by Andrew Pearson
Fri and Sat, July 20 and 21 at 7PM; Sun July 22 at 2PM. Details to follow.

Supporters celebrate the "groundbreaking" of CVRep's new home in Cathedral City, May 7, 2018

Jazzville at Oscar's June 6

Jazzville is a monthly live jazz scene in Palm Springs presented by DJ Baz at Oscar's Café downtown, hosted by Jeff Wolf of 107.3 Mod FM. Come hear world-class musicians and enjoy good wine and food, too (no minimum). Jazzville on June 6 from 7:00–10:00 p.m. presents Drew Ninmer on trumpet (from the movie Whiplash), Martin Diller on drums (Postmodern Jukebox) and Will Lyle on bass (rising all-star). Be-Bop & Swing of the 50s & 60s with special guests! More info

"Women Behind Bars" on Sale Now

The Desert Rose Playhouse, the Coachella Valley’s LGBTQ+ Stage Company, will present Women Behind Bars, a comedy by Tom Eyen, opening Friday, June 22, 2018 for a six-week run. In this hilarious satire on B-movies of the 1950's, Mary Eleanor, an innocent duped into crime, lands in the Greenwich Village Woman's House of Detention. The prison is presided over by a massive matron with a taste for sadism and female flesh. Our heroine, now Caged in the Big House, learns about life The Hard Way. Tickets on sale now

Justin Busch Makes Palm Springs Debut

This Sunday, June 3 at 6:00 p.m., Chill Bar and Planned Parenthood present singer/songwriter Justin Busch in his Palm Springs debut performance for a night you won't want to miss. This concert will benefit Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. Busch describes his music as "a way to weave these incredible stories out of the fabric of a strange and unexpected journey: stories of life and love, the past and the future, loss and perseverance…" Get tickets

June Pride Month in Greater Palm Springs

Summer heat will rear its ugly head this weekend with temps approaching the same number as our main highway – 111. We've had a great Spring and a wonderful season!

The Warhol exhibit at the Palm Springs Art Museum has packed up and left us with a better understanding of the enigmatic artist. We now know so much more about the Michael Childers connection to Andy as well. Michael acted as docent for a recent group at the museum, some of my friends were among the lucky group!

We're making plans for "Summer in the City" and I'm pleased to announce that the Mid-Summer Dance Party benefitting Desert AIDS Project will return. I've just secured DJ Ray Rhodes (Tiger Heat in LA) to spin 80s tunes on Saturday, July 28th at Chill Bar. Details soon!

Our new Gay Desert Guide Summer Map & Calendar is out. If you're new to the area or have friends visiting, you'll want to pick up a copy at one of over 100 locations in the valley. If your business would like copies to give to customers, please contact us! Each quarter, we highlight our Featured restaurants, shopping, Nightlife and more in an easy-to-navigate map of Palm Springs and Cathedral City.

Speaking of which, the bar scene there is about to really heat up! "Runway", the restaurant and bar attached to CCBC is about 60 days away from opening its doors. And finally, the lights at The Roost Lounge are about to be turned on! While we're in Cat City, Gay Desert Guide is having our signature TryOUT Tuesday on a Thursday. We will bring you the new Mama Mia film, "Here We Go Again" at the Mary Pickford Theatre on Thursday, July 19th.

Gay Desert Guide is proud to be a media sponsor at two major film festivals this summer: ShortFest and Outfest in Los Angeles. We'll bring you the highlights and keep you updated on the best LGBTQ films at each.

Gay Wine Weekend starts the next day (July 20) in Sonoma. Tickets are still available. Big Bear Romp will be an opportunity to escape the August heat for the alpine village. Details on our comprehensive Events calendar

And a final note on Tuesday's election. Please research the candidates and issues. Equality California has a comprehensive list. Locally, our Stonewall Democrats also provide guidance. I'll make one last plea to vote No on Measure C. The Desert Business Association board has endorsed No on C.

I love Palm Springs and in my opinion, this is a ban on vacation rentals that have been a part of the accommodations we have been offering our tourists for decades. Measure C is bad for business, bad for our economy and sends the wrong message to those who are looking to visit.

Brad Fuhr, Gay Desert Guide

The Amigo Room bar at the Ace Hotel serves artisanal cocktails and a wide selection of craft beers in a cool, cavernous space. Their draft beer selection, with 21 taps, is entirely comprised of craft beer. Get $5 pints every Sunday at the Amigo Room and King's Highway restaurant at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club's "Buddy Brews!" More info

The sleek industrial styled BlackBook Bar located in the heart of the gay strip on Arenas (currently celebrating their first year in business!) now has Happy Hour every day from 4–6:00 p.m. and NAUGHTY hour from 10:00 p.m–midnight. During these times you cam enjoy specials such as $5 pint glass well drinks, $1 off all bottle and draft beer, and $2 off all wines by the glass! More info

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