By Tom Jimenez
Palm Springs Pride announced the 2022 theme ‘Say Gay’ as a challenge to fight extremism at the ballot box this November. Palm Springs Pride president and CEO Ron deHarte said,
“Say Gay” is a theme, it’s a political statement, it’s a call to action. Mobilize your friends, family, neighbors, and workplace to vote for politicians that stand up and fight for LGBTQ rights. “Say Gay” to politicians taking away control of our bodies and silencing teachers from recognizing the existence of LGBTQ+ people to their students.”
“In facing adversity and staring directly at the threats to our rights, we gather in protest and celebration. In doing so, we knock on the door of justice and fight for our freedom,” added deHarte.
Pride Week, presented by the City of Palm Springs, is the largest annual event in Palm Springs. It’s also the largest gathering of LGBTQ people in the Coachella Valley. In 2021, Pride Week attracted over 160,000 attendees and generated a significant $30 million economic impact for area hotels, shops, restaurants, and other local businesses. Favorite bars and local businesses will be packed and spilling out onto the streets for the biggest LGBTQ street party in Palm Springs.
A Festival highlight is the Electric Revolution Live (ERL), showcasing an inclusive future of mobility, sustainability, and green energy. Connecting the LGBTQ+ communities with smart and sustainable mobility options, ERL brings a full range of electric vehicles to Palm Springs Pride, from scooters and bikes to cars and trucks, as well as exciting demonstrations and fun races on the streets near Palm Canyon Drive. Electric Revolution Live is presented in partnership with The Motor/Cycle Arts Foundation, Dash Radio, and Palm Springs Pride. Plus, Dash’s Metaverse Studio, DXSH, is creating a parallel virtual Pride experience for fans worldwide, a music and motorsports virtual experience simultaneous with real-life Pride events for the first time.
The Arenas District remains the Gateway to Pride and the pedestrian-only social center of LGBTQ-friendly bars, restaurants, and shopping. The Recovery Oasis, a place for sobriety fun, and the DAP Health Wellness Pavilion are new to the festival. Another new featured location is the QueerWorks TransPower Lounge, a unique space that will provide a safe and affirming environment within the festival for transgender, non-binary, and intersex individuals.
Festival features include a Youth Zone presented by US Bank, Children’s Garden presented by Nissan, The Art of Pride presented by Eisenhower Health, 200 back-to-back exhibitors, community groups, and food and beverage stations. There’s something for everyone in Palm Springs.
The 2022 Palm Springs Pride Festival Poster
Palm Springs resident Richard Vaughn, Advertising Art Director, Palm Springs Life Magazine, created this year’s Palm Springs Pride Poster. “For the 2022 Greater Palm Springs Pride poster, I was inspired by Robert Indiana’s iconic “Love” image, which stacks the L and O atop the V and E to create a graphic emphasizing the message “love.” Similarly, this year’s Pride theme, “SAY GAY,” packs a powerful and political message for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Richard added, “When I visualized the theme, I saw bold letters overlapping, creating positive and negative shapes, which allowed me to use Gilbert Baker’s original 1978 Pride flag colors. I added a dialog bubble tail to express the power of speech. I love the unabashed way the poster conveys its message.”
“We shared the theme Say Gay with Richard, seeking a bold design to elevate the importance of two words. Simple but serious words intended to set the mood for Pride in Palm Springs” said Ron deHarte, president and CEO of Palm Springs Pride. “We had a good feeling that Richard would create a great design because he designed the popular cover of the 2021 Palm Springs Pride Magazine.”
A Pride Festival Like No Other
Todrick Hall, Pussy Riot, Tanzer, Polartropica, Jake Zyrus, and Ballet Folklorico Proyecto Trans Latina top the 36th annual Greater Palm Springs Pride Festival lineup. The Festival, a highlight of Pride Week, will celebrate and embrace the region’s diverse LGBTQ+ community from November 1-6 in downtown Palm Springs.
Todrick Hall, the fiercely independent pop cultural phenomenon, headlines the Festival on Saturday, Nov. 5, and sets the stage for an unprecedented and diverse group of LGBTQ+ performers in the Palm Springs Pride lineup. Conceptual artist and activist Nadya Tolokonnikova, the founding member of Pussy Riot, a global feminist protest art movement, will be the headliner Sunday, Nov. 6. Pussy Riot stands for gender fluidity, inclusivity, matriarchy, love, laughter, decentralization, anarchy, and anti-authoritarianism. Nadya, the lead member, was sentenced in 2012 to two years imprisonment following an anti-President Vladimir Putin performance. Direct from Australia, singer, DJ, artist, and proud queer community member Tanzer performs Saturday, Nov. 5. Tanzer is known for her cinematic, high-glamour, escapist works that are intensely powerful and darkly humorous.
The Truly Vodka Main Stage opens Friday night, Nov. 4, with Dash Radio’s Tropical Oasis featuring the LGBTQ+ community’s best-emerging talent. The Tropical Oasis features Los Angeles-based galactic dream pop artist Polartropica recently crowned LA Weekly’s Best Indie Pop Band. With songs described as a gumbo of soul, funk, pop, and camp, Tolliver joins the lineup that includes Lucy and La Mer with their message of self-acceptance and positivity. The West Hollywood-based electronic rock/pop band with a grungy edge, Glass Battles, and an appearance by Sassy Ross and host Bella da Ball complete the Friday lineup.
Other highlighted acts include Filipino pop star and transgender icon Jake Zyrus, BETTY, the award-winning indie rock trio, and Ballet Folklorico Proyecto Trans Latina, a group of six Trans-identified women showcasing their highly choreographed and colorful traditional Mexican Folklorico. The new Oscar’s Pride stage on Tahquitz Canyon Way will feature Keith George – The Boy George Experience, performances by Mimosa Men, Bitchiest Brunch, and others.
Artists in the 2022 lineup include:
One More Time: A Tribute to Daft Punk
WANNABE: Tribute to Spice Girls
The Robyn Party is the original and longest-running tribute dance party to the Swedish pop icon, Robyn.
Joy Dorris.
Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus
Steven Michael’s Dance Machine
Z LaLa, a pop singer and a Palm Springs Pride favorite, is known for her ability to sing in 21 languages
Aura Van Dank
Sheena Wolfe
Weekend host Bella da Ball
DJs in the weekend lineup include Femme A, Ray Rhodes, Modgirl, Mr. D, Aaron C, Vaughn Avakian, Millennium, Galaxy, Eric Ornelas, Zareen, and DJ Waide.
The festival’s return to Palm Canyon Dr, the new Oscars Pride stage on Tahquitz, and the Truly Vodka stage on Palm Canyon in front of the Hyatt Palm Springs.
LGBTQ+ artists featured throughout the weekend.
200 back-to-back non-profit organizations and exhibitor booths.
The festival includes plenty of outdoor food and beverage booths.
About Greater Palm Springs Pride
Greater Palm Springs Pride (www.pspride.org) is a nonprofit community enhancement organization founded to promote public education and awareness of individual rights and civil liberties of the LGBTQ community and to promote the history, diversity, and future prosperity of the Greater Palm Springs LGBTQ community. Palm Springs Pride has been a tireless advocate for equality and diversity since the first Coachella Valley Pride event in 1986.
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization brings together the skills, talents, and vision of our diverse community through its programs which include the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast, Pride Honors Awards, the Cesar Chavez Breakfast, the Pride Parade, Pride Festival, and the downtown Arenas Rd. Block Party.
For more information about Greater Palm Springs Pride, visit www.pspride.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/palmsprings.pride. With the support of the City of Palm Springs, the 2022 Palm Springs Pride Week is scheduled for November 4-6, 2022.
For more information about Greater Palm Springs Pride, visit www.pspride.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/palmsprings.pride.
