Gay Desert Guide Weekend: June 25-27, 2021

Summer is officially here and the livin’ is easy! Summer does seem like the perfect time to recharge your proverbial batteries.  So I’m noticing many friends either already out of the valley or planning trips out soon.
I made a pilgrimage back to my roots to attend a family reunion and class reunion in the Midwest.  We still managed to produce the 103rd episode of the #ILoveGayPalmSprings podcast with John Taylor.  It goes on hiatus for a month with exciting audio news ahead!
Wherever your summer plans take you – if only to the top of the tramway or to the nearest pool – keep updated on what’s happening with GayDesertGuide.LGBT.
Brad Fuhr, your Gay Desert Guide 
#ILoveGayPalmSprings
#ILoveGayCatCity
#ShopLocal and … #WeArePalmSprings

I Love Gay Palm Springs Podcast – Episode 103

John Taylor and Gay Desert Guide Brad Fuhr welcome special guests Deb Pollack from the LGBTQ Center of the Desert, Jimmy Boegle from CVIndependent.com and Nicholas Snow from PromoHomo.TV
The #ILoveGayPalmSprings Podcast is broadcast on Facebook Live, Fridays at 11:00 a.m. The#ILoveGayPalmSprings Podcast is also available on Apple TV, Roku TV, Amazon, FireTV and Android devices via OutAt.tv. Tune in Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. (or later on-demand) to stream us to your TV. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and more!

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ShortFest: Gayla! and Best of the Fest

The Palm Springs International ShortFest continues through this weekend, with the Gayla! collection of LGBTQ-themed films showing on Friday, June 25 at 7:00 p.m. [More info]. For a schedule of collections showing in all three Camelot theaters, see our bookmark [here]. Best of Fest screenings are scheduled for Monday, June 28 and will feature jury award winners and audience favorites. Tickets for Best of Fest will be available Sunday, June 27 at approximately 9:00 p.m. LGBT+ shorts that will be screening at the Camelot Theatre (Palm Springs Cultural Center) and competing for the Best LGBT+ Short category include: “Break In,” “Bruised Fruit Tastes Sweeter,” “Club Quarantine,” Complicated,” “F1 – 100,” “Fervor” (World Premiere), “Forgive Us” (World Premiere), “Her Dance” (North American Premiere), “The Lights Are On, No One’s Home,” “Our Bed Is Green,” “Water,” and “Flex” (pictured here). New programs include “Power to the People,” “Codes of Conduct,” “Nights to Remember’ and more. The ShortFest Forum returns with virtual classes and panels to make it more available to all, including international filmmakers unable to attend. More info

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Pride Events in L.A.,  Sonoma County & Online

LA Pride presents Pride is Universal 2021: LGBTQ+ Night at Universal Studios Hollywood™ on Friday, June 25 starting at 8:00 p.m. for an epic, exclusive after-hours party. You can enter as early as 4:00 p.m. to enjoy the theme park during regular operating hours, then it’s just you and your friends, with DJ’s, musical guests, cash bar, and several rides and attractions remain open. More info

On Saturday, June 26 at 9:00 p.m., Cinespia and LA Pride present LGBTQ+ Movie Night Under the Stars at the famous Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The film will be “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” and the evening will also feature a free themed photo booth, DJs, and dance space to celebrate being together again! Pack a party picnic, BYOB beer and wine, or visit the concessions stand and bar. More info
Up in Sonoma County, it’s a Rainbow City Concert on Saturday, June 26, featuring Todrick Hall, Derrick Barry as Britney Spears, special guest Bright Lights, Ryan Cassata, as well as special appearances by Cheer SF & DJ Lady Char. More info
The Coachella Valley’s own Desert Winds Freedom Band will join with 12 additional Pride bands from across the country on Saturday, June 26 at 4:00 p.m. and again at 7:00 pm. for Loud & Proud: A Celebration of Pride Bands from Coast to Coast on YouTube. Created collaboratively between all of the participating bands and coordinated by the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, Loud & Proud features an exciting mixture of pop, symphonic, classical, and modern selections. Registration is free, donations accepted. More info

The Miss Firecracker Contest at Desert Rose Playhouse

The Desert Rose Playhouse presents their first in-person production since the COVID shutdown: The Miss Firecracker Contest, running through Sunday, July 4. This Southern Gothic comedy written by Beth Henley introduces us to Carnelle, an irrepressible young woman who thinks that winning the local beauty contest will restore her soiled reputation and make her somebody in her small Mississippi community. The family and friends who help her along the way are a dysfunctional bunch who tackle life in their own peculiar ways. VIP couches, high-top tables, and individual seats available. Get tickets

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CCGBA Open House Tour of Cathedral City LGBTQ Bars

In celebration of National Pride Month, as well as COVID-19 restrictions being lifted in California, The Cathedral City Gay Business Association (CCGBA) welcomes you back to Cathedral City with a week-long Open House Tour, and Gay Desert Guide is proud to be a media sponsor! Starting Monday, June 21 at One Eleven Bar, enjoy $4 Happy Hour Specials each day of the tour from 6:00–8:00 p.m., continuing at a different location each day: The Barracks, Trunks, Runway, AMP Sports Lounge, and wrapping up Saturday, June 26 with simultaneous specials at all participating bars. A “Cat City Cocktail” for $6 will donate $1 back to the CCGBA to bring tourism to Cathedral City and provide great entertainment for the LGBTQ community. More info

Pride Virtual Tour of Greenwich Village

Gay Desert Guide’s Fun & Games Dept. & TheMenEvent.com present A Special Pride Virtual Tour of More Greenwich Village—East and Far West on Saturday, June 26 at 11:00 a.m. on Zoom. Keep celebrating Pride with more of the world’s first gayborhood—the Village’s East and far West—with plenty more LGBTQ+ history and stories. Professor Andrew Lear will show you the concert venue where the “pansy balls” of the 1920s were held, the house of America’s first out gay painter, the place where Lady Bunny started Wigstock, a memorial to the 100,000+ New Yorkers who have died of AIDS, and much more. Get tickets

Bingo with Bella at Mizell

Mizell Bingo is back the last Friday of the month, with Bingo numbers called by your favorite local hostess extraordinaire, Bella Da Ball. In addition to a regular wonderful selection of prizes, there will be 2 amazing raffles! The next edition will be Friday, June 25 from 1:00-3:00 p.m., at the Noia Auditorium. You will need to wear a face mask and they will have everyone socially distanced during play. You will need to be one of the first 30 people allowed at this event. More info

Simply the Best – Tina Turner Tribute

Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage’s The Show presents Simply The Best – A Tribute to The Queen of Rock on Saturday, June 26 at 8:00 p.m. This live reproduction tribute concert celebrates your favorite Tina Turner songs, produced by M8TRIX Productions featuring Stephanya as the “Queen of Rock.” Seen around the world, Simply The Best is filled with high energy, powerful vocals, and top notch dancers. Get tickets

Also: Read Dante’s take [here] on Ross Mathews’ Dragtastic Bubbly Brunch, Sundays at V Wine Lounge. More info

Name Your Seat at the Historic Camelot Theatre

The Palm Springs Cultural Center (PSCC) has been there for us through the pandemic, offering virtual and outdoor/distanced events, keeping the Farmers’ Market going too! Now as we emerge from COVID, the PSCC is planning exciting new programming more focused on live events and they can use your support. To celebrate the designation of Theatre One in PSCC as the Historic Camelot Theatre, they are inviting everyone in the community to be a part of this very special Palm Springs institution by purchasing a seat (or several) for yourself or to honor someone else. One hundred percent of the dollars raised in this “Best Seat in the House” program will be used to maintain and improve the theatre. More info

15th Annual LGBTQ Community Survey Closes June 30

Please take part in the Community Marketing & Insights (CMI) 15th Annual LGBTQ Community Survey! Participation in this survey gives important feedback to our LGBTQ community media and organizations, and provides data to companies interested in serving our community, sponsoring our charities, and supporting their LGBTQ employees. The survey should take about 12 to 15 minutes to complete. Make your voice heard before it closes June 30! [Click here to take the survey]

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LOOKING AHEAD

TUESDAY: Climate Crisis: Global and Local Perspectives

The United Nations Association of the Coachella Valley continues its series of speaker events addressing issues that transcend boundaries and affect all people, Moving Forward in 2021 on Tuesday, June 29 at 4:00 p.m. with Climate Crisis: Global and Local Perspectives. Zilkha Center Director Tanja Srebotnjak will present a global climate crisis overview, discuss how the Biden Administration has re-joined the UN Paris Agreement and give insights with Patrick Evans on how that affects California during its struggles with drought, wildfires and more. Registration required. More info

NEXT WEEK: Virtual Events at The Center

The LGBTQ Community 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 their programs:
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.
Fifty+ Fit with Lynn Simonson – Tuesdays at 11:00 a.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.
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.
LGBTQ+ Youth Virtual Hangout with Miguel Navarro – Fridays at 2:00 p.m.
Who Cares: Caregiver Support Group with Perry Wiggins – Fridays at 3:00 p.m.
Full list of The Center’s Zoom programs [here]