Cathedral City Celebrates Diversity with LGBT Days

The new event features live entertainment, a charity race, and loads of festivities

Winston Gieseke LGBTQ+

The inaugural Cathedral City LGBT Days runs April 3-5 in the downtown area bordering the Mary Pickford Theaters.
Photo by thinkstockphotos.com

 

Move over, Palm Springs Pride. There’s a new celebration in town.

The first-ever Cathedral City LGBT Days opens April 3 as part of a three-day celebration that begins with an opening night party at the new Festival Lawn, 68600 E. Palm Canyon Drive. There will also be free performances by the Palm Springs Gay Men's Chorus and Simeon Den’s Dance Troupe, a Rocky Horror Picture Show sing-a-long at the Desert Cinemas UltraMAX Theatre, and a Bunny Bar Hop with free shuttle services courtesy of Fiat of Palm Springs.

In addition, there are pool parties, dance parties, an Easter egg hunt for kids, and a costume-themed charity race.

Communications/Events Manager Chris Parman says the idea of the multiple-day event was simply to celebrate diversity in Cathedral City.

“We have a large LGBT population. Three out of five council members are openly gay,” he says. “Cathedral City used to be the center of gay life in the Coachella Valley until the 1980s, when the growth mostly went to Palm Springs.”

For decades, the White Party had been held over Easter weekend, and when it moved to the end of the month, Cathedral City decided to use the weekend for their celebration.

“Palm Springs celebrates Gay Pride in November,” says Parman. “And since we love our sister city, we didn’t want to host a competing event in the fall.”

Cathedral City LGBT Days, April 3-5, 2015, in downtown Cathedral City. All non-ticketed events are free and open to the public. Visit www.CathedralCityLGBTDays.com for more information.

 

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