Palm Springs Pride Week organizers announced a traditional slate of in-person Pride events for the 35th annual LGBTQ celebration scheduled for November 1–7, 2021. The Pride parade and festival featuring multiple stages of live entertainment and a vendor marketplace will return to downtown Palm Springs.
The announcement, coming as the COVID-19 crisis subsides, sets the stage for California’s only large-scale, in-person Pride event to move forward in 2021. Providing a space for the community to gather after the stress, uncertainty, and isolation of the pandemic is expected to attract record attendance to Palm Springs. In 2019, Pride Week attracted an estimated 140,000 attendees and generated a significant economic impact for area hotels, shops, restaurants, and other local businesses.
Enjoy Pride in Palm Springs as you Sip, Sashay, Celebrate and Honor those who have courageously fought for equality and are no longer with us. Live your truth and no one else’s. Gather your friends, and together let’s celebrate our fearlessly authentic lives. Embrace diversity and advance the cause of individual freedom for all.
“You Are Included” is more than a theme for Pride 2021; it proclaims all are seen and loved. Our gender identity, race, religion, nationality, health status, and appearance are embraced, celebrated, and welcome at Palm Springs Pride.
When discussing what live events will look like in a post-COVID-19 world, Palm Springs Pride president and CEO Ron deHarte said, “Plans call for traditional Pride Week programming, and we look forward to a celebration of equality and diversity that will be remembered for years to come. Of primary importance is hosting a safe event. If health guidelines are issued for large in-person events occurring in November, we are prepared to follow state, county, and city live event protocols.”
Festival highlights include a Youth Zone, Children’s Garden, LGBTQ artists, 200 back-to-back exhibitors, food and beverage stations, health resources, and HIV testing sites. Take your photo with Arty, the 20′ tall leather bear, and enjoy yourself in the Arenas Rd gayborhood, our pedestrian-only social center of LGBTQ-friendly bars, restaurants, and shopping. There’s something for everyone. Favorite bars and local businesses will be packed and spilling out onto the streets for the biggest LGBTQ street party in Palm Springs.
Details for Pride Week activities can be found online at palmspringspride.gay.
Featured programs and official events scheduled for this year’s Palm Springs Pride celebration include:
George Zander Candlelight Vigil and March
Monday, November 1, 2021 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.)
New Downtown Park at Museum Way and Belardo Rd, Palm Springs, CA
Pride Drive-in Movie Night screening
November 3, 2021 (5:30 – 9:30 p.m.)
presented by Nissan
Camelot Theatres, 2300 E Baristo Rd
Flag Raising
Friday, November 5, 2021 (10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.)
Presented by Lighthouse Dispensary
Palm Springs Coming Out Celebration
A Night of Hundred Stars
Friday, November 5, 2021 (5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.)
Palm Canyon Drive from Museum Way to Tahquitz Canyon Way
Interfaith Pride Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, November 5, 2021 (6:30 p.m.)
Light Up the Night
November 1 – 7, 2021 (5:00 p.m. to Midnight daily)
Presented by Alaska Airlines, and Gay Desert Guide
Front Runners Pride 5K Run and Walk
Saturday, November 6
West Chino Drive and Belardo Road
5th Annual Palm Springs Pride Golf Tournament
Saturday, November 6 (7:00 a.m. – 2 p.m.)
Marriott’s Shadow Ridge Golf Resort in Palm Desert
Pride Festival Days 1 & 2
Saturday, November 6, 2021 (11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.)
and Sunday, November 7, 2021 (11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
A street fair, a music festival of diverse artists, and a gathering place, the Pride Festival is a celebration of all that is LGBTQ+ in Palm Springs. Downtown Palm Springs. Exhibitor marketplace opens at 11:00 a.m.
Sip, Sashay and Celebrate in one large Event Venue in Downtown Palm Springs! All the action happens on Palm Canyon Dr and in the new downtown park and surrounding streets.
• Main Stage on Tahquitz and Palm Canyon. (2 p.m.–10:00 p.m.)
• Downtown Park Stage on Museum Way and Museum Dr (2 p.m.–10 p.m.)
Servicemember Reembrace Wreath Laying for LGBT Veterans
Saturday, November 6, 2021 (2:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.)
Youth Zone @ the Pride Festival
The Youth Zone is the hub for LGBTQ+ youth and their allies at the Pride Festival.
Free access for youth 14 to 21. Open Saturday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Children’s Garden – C-HQ
A playful place for children and their accompanying adults to celebrate Pride
Free for infants to pre-teen
Open Saturday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
PS Drag Brunch Pride Edition
Sunday, November 7 (9:00 a.m. – Noon)
Roly China Fusion
1107 N Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs
EIGHT4NINE Restaurant & Lounge Champagne Brunch and Parade Party
Sunday, November 7 (9:00 a.m.)
849 N Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs
Trio Pride Parade Party
Sunday, November 7 (9 a.m. until parade ends)
707 N Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs
Palm Springs Pride Parade
Sunday, November 7 (10:00 a.m. To 12:30 p.m.)
ABOUT THE 2021 PALM SPRINGS PRIDE FESTIVAL POSTER
This year’s Palm Springs Pride Poster and T-Shirt artwork were created by fine artist Shag (aka Josh Agle) and celebrate this year’s theme of “You are Included.” Shag has his retail store and gallery in Palm Springs aptly called “The Shag store” located on N Palm Canyon Drive https://shagstore.com. Shag has had solo exhibitions worldwide, been on numerous magazines and album covers, and hired by too many corporate companies to list for his artworks, including Disney and Coca-Cola.
“Capturing the spirit of love, gratefulness, survival, health, and a profound sense of community that the 2021 Pride celebration represents is a big ask for an artist. If anyone can capture the feeling of what this year’s celebration represents in an iconic print, it’s Shag,” said Ron deHarte, president of Palm Springs Pride. “His strong images, mid-mod lifestyle, ability to create the scene everyone wants to be in is exactly what our community needs this year.”
Shag also works closely with the Coachella Valley Board of Marketing (the CVB), The Palm Springs Animal Shelter, Pride, Modernism Week, and many other exciting and socially responsible organizations. We welcome everyone to visit and enjoy our Shag store in Palm Springs.