Pride Fest took place the weekend of November 3rd and went on until that Sunday evening. I had the pleasure of attending the festival on Sunday and had a blast!
Word on the street is that Saturday’s festival was filled with wildly good fun. The festival ended around 6pm before turning into a full-fledged block party in the Downtown Palm Springs area. The block party went into the late hours of the night before finally coming to a close. Sadly, I was unable to attend this day of the event. I will not make the same mistake next year (and you shouldn’t either)!
The parade also took place on Sunday and featured a great line-up of Grand Marshals including Iraqi War Veteran Eric Alva, fashion designer Michael Costello, radio personality Joey English, and more.
Sunday was a tiny bit more relaxed than the day before. I was surprised at the amount of stages in the venue. Right when I walked in, I was drawn to the pop music coming from the large stage near the entrance. I made my way through the grounds and saw people performing on every stage. They had a karaoke tent filled with drunk-singers (but who cares, everyone was having a good time!) and a country music tent with people line-dancing. It was cool to see everyone in that tent doing the electric slide. 
There were tons of vendors selling everything from dog toys, to flags, to T-Shirts and posters. I also saw a lot of different charitable organizations at this event including Domestic Partnerships and Anti-Bullying causes. One of my favorite stands was the one with the free dog kisses. That’s something I’ll take any day! There were also several dunk tanks. If you paid a few dollars, you got to see a really good-looking guy get dunked in water.
The place was packed with people from all walks of life. I really liked seeing how many people were having a good time. At one point, I saw a whole group of Drag Queens who could rock heels better than I ever could. There were also lots of families at the event. There was even a special area with bounce houses for kids to play.
Another great thing about this event is that since Palm Springs Pride is a non-profit organization, all of the proceeds earned at this event went to many charitable organizations. It’s an awesome concept, especially if you got to experience the festival yourself! Food, beer, wine, music, vendors, and entertainment¾and it was all for charity. What could be better?
The overall goal of this festival is not just to raise awareness to the LGBT community, but also to celebrate gay-pride in Palm Springs. The event was fun, entertaining, and affordable. It was awesome just to be there. So be sure to check out the event next year.
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