Lesbians of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley Outings and Events
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NOTE: This newsletter may be cut short by your email program. There is a link at the bottom of screen to view the full newsletter or click here. View as Webpage | |
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But people can't, unhappily, invent their mooring posts, their lovers and their friends, anymore than they can invent their parents. Life gives these and also takes them away and the great difficulty is to say Yes to life. James Baldwin
Last month, my childhood friend and her husband came down from Canada and did a hard spring pruning in the backyard. The delicate green leaves of the brittle brush were gone, leaving hard brown stalks. The overgrown, bright verbena was leveled, and nothing but dirt was left in its place. But beneath, hidden from our eyes, life moves in its own rythms and powerful ways. The verbana roots have pushed new green leaves up in an explosion of new growth. New plants take root in new spaces. A long dormant brittle brush stump suddenly is covered in tiny red leaves. Sun and water and a little fertilizer. Work and patience.
Every year, the garden is the same, and every year, the garden is different. My life, too, is different every year; some people draw closer, and others drift as we all follow the flow of our lives. I believe that life, too, is working deep within all of us, that sometimes the hard prunings cut out beliefs that I should no longer hold too, that some relationships have a season, but in hindsight, I understand why they could not be a relationship for life. I've had days when I felt dark and underground, and then there is light again, and I feel awe and gratitude for everything on my journey, the ecstatic moments of flow and the more demanding days. And through it all, our souls need kindness, respect, and truth to renew and grow. In dark these times, it is easy to say, "Why bother?". But, these times, too, will pass, and as Gloria Steinham once said, "the political is personal." We need to be faithful to our values and how we treat one another if we are to see a healthy country.
The newsletter will come out late on Sunday until Kim adjusts to daylight saving time. It's another staycation weekend. We had an open house yesterday and today, and we find it easier to stay in the Sprinter van rather than restage the house and put out show pillows and towels. The dog is very confused about camping in the driveway, but it's lovely to wake up in a ficus forest and watch the dawn come up through the front window. Traffic has been easy on this trip.
Hope you have a great week. Kim
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My book Travels Into Discomfort is available on Amazon.
It is a travel adventure in its prose and a journey to the heart in its poetry.
Travels Into Discomfort
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Barbara Carpenter Realtor
Shann Carr
Comedian, Event Producer, Realtor, A Lesbian Concierge In The Desert
Andrea Voras, Gerontologist Dementia Specialist Life Aging Life Care Manager
Constance Clare-Newman, Somatic Work for Pain Relief and Stress Reduction
Corlyce Photography
Chris Ann Kallgren Realtor
Sunny Designs-Website & Graphic Design & Video
Rice Notary
Nancy Minger - Massage Therapist
Poochsitter
Motivation Changes — Life Coaching - Dr Ann Sarah Engel, MSW, PhD
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Protest Dates
Trans Pride
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- Cork Women's Fun Weekend
- AdventureWomen: organizes exceptional women’s only travel groups spots around the globe.
- Trafalgar: offers women-only guided vacations to various destinations, with local female guides and experts.
- Road Scholar: provides educational and cultural trips for women of all ages and interests.
- Adventures in Good Company: creates active and adventurous trips for women who love the outdoors.
- Intrepid Travel’s Women’s Expeditions: explores local cultures and traditions from a female perspective, with female leaders and hosts.
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Email me at gabriolakim@gmail.com if you want something posted on the bulletin board, or an event promoted. | |
Thank you.
Thank you to everyone who shares recommendations for a worthy figure in women's history, an article, a book, a movie, or a women-centric event for the newsletter.
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Women’s History
Women, We Should Know
Hilma af Klint
Mother of Abstractionism, mystic, lesbian, theosophist. A fascinating women.
For nearly a century, art history courses credited the Russian painters Kazimir Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky as the origin story of abstraction in Western art. But now, the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint is recognized for abstract paintings predating Russian artists. She was overlooked for decades. She did not allow her work to be shown until 20 years after her death, so it was not widely seen until the 1980s. And she was not taken seriously as an artist in part because she was a woman and because she did not produce the kind of wall-card-translatable manifestos that reassure curators, historians, and art buyers with intellectual (usually pompous) explanations.
A documentary about af Klint, “Beyond the Visible,” was released in 2019, following her first major solo exhibition in the US at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Hilma movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert
Hilma can be streamed free on Kanopy (Palm Springs public library) or rented on Amazon
Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future | The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation
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LGBT History Alive with Ronni & Kelly
Podcasts | Ronni Sanlo
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Yard Sale - March 9th 2025
1165 N Sunrise Way
10 am to 2pm,
Candles, Shirts, Rainbow Flags, Household Items, Decor, Tools
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Sunset Jazz Soirée
Saturday, April 19
5-7 pm
Sweet Baby J'ai Presents An Evening with Virtuoso Yuko Mabuchi
Join us for an intimate Sunset Jazz Soirée in a stunning private home—an exclusive night of fine wine, gourmet bites, and world-class music. This rare opportunity offers a front-row seat to Mabuchi’s brilliance in an elegant and welcoming setting.
This fundraiser is more than a concert—it’s about community, artistry, and giving back. Proceeds support our Sunset Music And Education Foundation SMARTS Initiative (Sharing Music, Accessing Resources, Transforming Students), providing instruments and scholarships to young musicians. Some of our talented SMARTS students will also perform, showcasing the power of opportunity and mentorship—proof of what can happen when young artists are given the tools and encouragement to flourish.
Join us for a night of world-class music and inspiration, and witness the next generation of artists as they shine on stage
Venue: Private Home in Palm Springs (address will be provided upon ticket purchase). Admission: $85 (includes wine & hors d'oeuvres)
Tickets on sale now! Click here for tickets or scan the QR code
Be sure to get yours before they out!
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Worried about the legality of gay marriage and thinking you should get married just in case the laws change and having a problem booking an appointment at the City Clerk's office?
Fera Mostow
I am a minister and will do marriages for any gay couple that wants to get married before the inauguration free of charge or until Trump does something that eliminates gay marriage.
All they have to do is email me and they can come here - Sun City Shadow Hills, and I'll do the ceremony.
Contact Fera at fmostow@gmail.com
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Taxes Filed for Free
While the program has an income limit ($85K), they welcome seniors with any income and there is no age limit at DAP
1695 North Sunrise Way Palm Springs, CA 92262
We are at DAP on Wednesday/Thursday from 9AM-1PM through March 20th.
Walk-In
Contact Helen Boyne
608-609-2221
if you need more info.
Helen is one of their volunteers.
Click on the Link below and Page down to see what you need to bring.
2025 VITA Tax Season
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Desert Book Club discusses local author Susan Rukeyser’s new novel, The Worst Kind of Girl
(https://www.desertbookclub.com)
WHEN: Sunday, March 9th, 4 PM
WHERE: Joshua Tree Writers Retreat, 66621 Daisy Lane, Joshua Tree, CA
No worries if you haven’t read the book! But, copies are available at The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs and can be shipped from Hi Desert Times Magazines in Twentynine Palms (www.hidesert times.com).
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When her husband disappears and is presumed dead, 50-year-old Paula Winger leaves her comfortable East Coast life to buy the rundown Hi-Dez Motel, near Joshua Tree, California. Hoping for community and reinvention, things change radically when she falls in love with Sky, a woman, after a lifetime of men. Paula draws suspicion as, all around her, bodies turn up or go missing, but she’s busy reckoning with her identity at midlife, the ordinary traumas of girlhood, bodies, bigness, and sexual fluidity. Paula worries about her troubled adult niece, Gerry, and becomes determined to save her some time and trouble.
The Worst Kind of Girl invites the reader into a conversation about love and life and art and the joy we feel when we finally recognize ourselves. Filled with generosity and wisdom, this is a novel by a writer who has found her voice.
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Velma Wagner and other lesbians are part of this women’s chorus. The inimitable Shann Carr will be the host of the concert. She toured the country professionally as a comedian for three decades before settling in Palm Springs. Her humor is legendary, but she is also a woman of great strength and heart, using her immense talent to engage with and empower women across the Coachella Valley. Tickets are $20, $30 and $40.
Coachella Acappella
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Lesbians Embracing Aging is pleased to announce our next gift to the community.
Our zoom meeting on Monday March 10, 2025 at 11 AM will include a presentation on dealing with allergies in the desert by Dr. Anne M. Staveren, M.D.
Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82977588013?pwd=urfkjO44hhwpBbKU1OIZDnPfJlbg0R.1
Guest Presenter:
Anne M. Staveren, M.D., FACAAI
Los Angeles, California
Dr. Anne M. Staveren is a retired physician-partner from the Allergy-Immunology Department at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. She has extensive experience in pediatrics, allergy, and immunology and has served in leadership roles, including Senior Faculty at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Medical Education and Co-director of the Allergy-Immunology program. Dr. Staveren has also been the Chair of the Allergy-Immunology section of the National Medical Association and is a Past President of both the Charles R. Drew Medical Society and the Association of Black Women Physicians.
Her areas of expertise include food allergies, asthma, and atopic dermatitis.
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Women’s basketball sign ups are now on MyRecreationDistrict.com/Sports
Women can sign up as an individual or team, 18-70 years old and beyond . Games start on March 25th at Indio Recreation Center in the evening. We had 4 teams last year, hope to make it 6 teams this year. More infor on website.
You can also reach out to recreation supervisor Manny at 760-347-4263
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And later--April 4-12 we are presenting the lesbian themed play THE CAKE which is a touching and topical dramatic comedy about a vivacious, conservative North Carolina baker named Della. She faces a crisis of conscience when Jen--whom she loves like a daughter--asks her to bake a cake for Jen's lesbian wedding. Tickets are $40
Buy Tickets – THE BENT
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Easy/Moderate/Difficult Hikes
The heat us coming, hikes wil be earlier or at higher elevation.
Tuesday March 11th 8:00am if no rain.
Stone Pools - Indian Canyons
Length 6 miles
Type Up and Back
Elevation 800 ft
Time 3 hrs
Difficulty: Moderate
Meetup Trading Post in the Indian Canyons
Great views
Saturday, March 15th TBA
New hikers must register and sign a waiver.
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Every Month Bird Watching Walks at Prescott Preserve
Join OLT Volunteer Kurt Kosek for bird watching walks at Prescott Preserve every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 8am. Birders of all ages and experience levels welcome. Walks are under 1.5 miles on dirt trails. The group meets at the old golf cart crosswalk on Farrell, just north of Mesquite. Plenty of parking on Farrell.
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2025 Walks - Regular Friday walk at Butler Abrams - Rancho Mirage - Dogs Welcome
9AM
Length 2.5 miles
Type In 26thand Out
Elevation 45 ft
Time 1 Hr
Difficulty: Easy
Meetup is the parking lot at Michael S Wolfson Park
70001 Frank Sinatra Dr, Rancho Mirage, Ca 9227
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Book and Movie Salon/Club -
2024 Schedule 2nd Mondays 5:30 pm
**BAM SALON**
March through June 2025
Coming Home by Brittney Griner and Michelle Burford, 2024 (March 2025)
Brittney shares the harrowing details of her sudden arrest day before Russia invaded Ukraine; her bewilderment and isolation while navigating a foreign legal system.
No men beyond this point 2015 directed by Mark Sawers (April 2025)
In a world where women have become able to “self-fertilise” and are no longer giving birth to males, a quiet, unassuming housekeeper named Andrew Myers finds himself at the center of a battle to keep men from going extinct.
The midnight library by Matt Haig, 2020 (May 2025)
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices. Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets.
Signature Move 2017 directed by Jennifer Reeder (June 2025)
A closeted Muslim lesbian takes up lucha-style wrestling to release the anxiety from her stressful job and tense relationship with her newly widowed mother.
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Beautiful Rebel on Netflix
The film tells the story of Gianna Nannini, one of the biggest rockstars to come out of Italy, who pursued her musical dreams despite family and industry challenges. She has been married to wife Carla for 40 years
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PALS’ no-cost educational seminars provide up-to-date information, resources and opportunities to engage in essential planning ahead conversations before a major health or life-altering event occurs. For info about upcoming PALS Seminars with in-person and zoom registration links click here.
9:30 to 11 am. 3rd Saturday
September thru June
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PALS Death Cafe is a group-led open conversation about mortality that’s not a counseling or bereavement group. There’s no specified topics or designated outcomes. Just bring your questions about any aspect of death and dying that interests you. RSVP for the next PALS Death Cafe here. | |
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PALS Circle is an hour of enjoyable connection, support and friendship among LGBTQ+ seniors and allies. There's no agenda, no formal topic — just fun conversation and camaraderie each Monday from 6:00 to 7:00 PM on ZOOM. Sign up to receive PALS Circle announcements here.
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Lesbians Embracing Aging
Lesbians Embracing Aging: An Introduction
The mission of LEA is to encourage and assist LBTQIA women with healthy aging by creating
support networks of socialization, information, and healthcare.
We are forming a hub of LBTQIA Women and allies willing to help one another navigate the
changes and challenges of aging and help make the myriad of available services more accessible.
Please join us for our next meeting as we make progress toward our goals.
If you would like more information, be on our email list or join us for our next meeting TBA Please send an email to
LEAofCoachellaValley@gmail.com
The LEA women:
Kelly Watson, Lauren Nile, Barbara Tyler, Rita Gonzales, Kate Ullman, Ronni Sanlo
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Evening Chat Group 5:30pm to 7 pm Every Wednesday
LIDS (Lesbians In The Desert) Wednesday evenings, 5:30 pm - 7ish — join us for a lively Zoom chat, catch up with friends, and make new ones! Open to Lesbians in and out of the Coachella Valley — California — all 50 States — and beyond. Please email NurseJaynes@yahoo.com to receive the invite with Zoom meeting ID & Passcode. Bring a friend! Hosted by Cindy T, Crickett, & Jayne
Hosted by Crickett and Cindy
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1st and 3rd Fridays are Wine Down Friday’s with the Coachella Valley Ladies of Justice and a Guest Speaker at theV-Lounge 5PM-6:30P. 600 E Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs.
Network, share info about your business/upcoming event or just drop-by to unwind and make new friends!
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Gay Country Western Dancing - Saturday Nights
Join the Dance Ranch for a great night of country western dancing, including two-step, waltz, shadow, East and West Coast swing, and line dances.
It all happens at Step By Step
933 Crossley Road, Palm Springs.
Admission is $5
Lesson is at 7pm. Dancing from 7:30-9:30pm
Dance Ranch Palm Springs is a country western dance group serving the LGBTQ+ community and its friends. Country dancers of all levels are welcome!
Learn more about Dance Ranch and find out what they’re teaching at danceranchps.org.
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Our history will NOT be hidden!
Not with us two old lesbians and our awesome guests on guard! Our free podcast LGBTQ History Alive! with Ronni and Kelly begins
January 1, 2024.
Meet the Two Old Lesbians!
Ronni Sanlo, Ed.D. is a retired UCLA professor and LGBTQ Center director, founder of the award-winning Lavender Graduation, and editor of the four volume This Day in LGBTQ History. Kelly Watson, Ph.D, DDS, is a retired recovery center director and business professional, and still and always involved with 12 step recovery.
2024 Schedule - Check it Out!
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