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Lesbians of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley
Every Week is Women's Week in Palm Springs
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No Hard Feelings
Song by
The Avett Brothers
When my body won't hold me anymore
And it finally lets me free
Will I be ready?
When my feet won't walk another mile
And my lips give their last kiss goodbye
Will my hands be steady when I lay down my fears, my hopes, and my doubts?
The rings on my fingers, and the keys to my house
With no hard feelings
When the sun hangs low in the west
And the light in my chest won't be kept held at bay any longer
When the jealousy fades away
And it's ash and dust for cash and lust
And it's just hallelujah
And love in thought, love in the words
Love in the songs they sing in the church
And no hard feelings
Lord knows, they haven't done much good for anyone
Kept me afraid and cold
With so much to have and hold
Mmm, hmm
When my body won't hold me anymore
And it finally lets me free
Where will I go?
Will the trade winds take me south through Georgia grain?
Or tropical rain?
Or snow from the heavens?
Will I join with the ocean blue?
Or run into a savior true?
And shake hands laughing
And walk through the night, straight to the light
Holding the love I've known in my life
And no hard feelings
Lord knows, they haven't done much good for anyone
Kept me afraid and cold
With so much to have and hold
Under the curving sky
I'm finally learning why
It matters for me and you
To say it and mean it too
For life and its loveliness
And all of its ugliness
Good as it's been to me
I have no enemies
I have no enemies
I have no enemies
I have no enemies
The Avett Brothers - No Hard Feelings
Song by
The Avett Brothers
Some weeks, a song or a podcast resonates with me and I don't have much to add. Such was this song and I thought I would share it with you and also this podcast that I found fascinating with much food for thought.
The Deathbed Doctor: Dr. Christopher Kerr is a pioneering hospice physician, neurobiologist, and CEO who has spent nearly three decades studying the profound psychological and spiritual experiences of the dying. His groundbreaking research on end-of-life dreams and visions challenges conventional medical views on mortality and grief. His bestselling book, Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End, aims to destigmatize the dying process and reframe how we understand the end of life.
■ The Shift in Priorities: Dying individuals stop caring about worldly achievements or legacy, focusing entirely on relationships and ensuring they are not a burden to family.
■ Healing Old Wounds: Terminal patients frequently experience profound psychological transformation and resolve deep-seated childhood trauma in their final days.
■ The True Meaning of Life: Human existence is ultimately defined by our capacity for interdependency and love rather than individual accomplishments.
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REFLECTIONS
The Annual Breast Wrestling Championship
Time for my annual mammogram.
It was the usual wrestling match between me, the machine, and the technician. The technician, of course, always wins.
"Put your armpit here. Shoulder back. Lift your chin. Move to the right. Feet forward."
Parts of me are pushed here, other parts pushed there. None of my body parts are where they belong.
"Hold in your tummy. It's in the picture. Wrap your gown around the other breast and pull it out of the way."
Repeat another three times for all the angles.
The conversation is peppered with "Relax."
I ask the technician if anyone actually relaxes. She laughs and says, "No."
I ask how many times a day she says it.
"About 300."
I feel better. Maybe I'm not her worst patient.
It's hard to relax with your stomach sucked in, a boob in one hand, and the other one being squeezed between cold metal plates while stretching your shoulder back and your chin forward and up. I suspect the whole procedure was designed by someone who has never owned a pair of breasts.
She tells me I tolerate "compression" well. This is medical terminology for watching your breast flatten and widen like batter in a waffle machine without your face contorting in pain..
I tell her it's a good thing we only have two boobies and not six or eight, like dogs. We'd have to pack a lunch and make a day of it.
I always feel a little righteous when it's over. Another annual act of responsible womanhood completed. My breasts have been photographed from every conceivable angle, my dignity has been temporarily surrendered, and I have survived another round of being told to relax while doing something physically impossible. It's for rocky road ice cream.
Kim
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THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS
⚖️ Coachella Valley Ladies of Justice — Regular Weekly Meeting
- When: Every Sunday | 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
- Where: Mountain View Grill (28555 Landau Blvd, Cathedral City, CA)
⚓ Yacht Rock Halloween / Ladies Party!
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When: Wednesday, October 28 | 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
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Where: Low Desert (Smoke Tree Village, 1775 E Palm Canyon Dr, Ste 405, Palm Springs, CA)
🫖 Lesbian & Queer Women’s Tea Dance (The Center)
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When: Sunday, November 1
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Where: Nashville Kitchen & Bar (262 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
🥾 Seasonal Hikes
- Schedule: Tuesdays & Saturdays (Regular Hikes) | Some Fridays & Mondays (Slower, beginner-friendly hikes)
- Details: Be sure to sign up for email notifications to receive location drops and weekly trail updates.
🚶♀️ Weekly Morning Walks
- Wednesday, 8:00 AM
- Location: Prescott Preserve
- Details: Start your morning right with a casual community walk!
🎬 Reel Women’s Film Festival: Women Who Refused to Stay in Their Lane
- When: Sunday, October 25 | 12:30 PM – 6:00 PM
- Where: Palm Springs Cultural Center
- Details: An inspiring day of film benefiting Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.
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Passes: Get your passes online at planned.org/rwff
🎬 Movie Meetup Update
- Status: Our next meetup date is currently TBA. Stay tuned for updates in next week's email!
🎷 Live Music & Entertainment at Gertie’s
Gertie's Eatery & Bar is doubling the fun for six weeks, through the fall!
- Schedule: Live entertainment 4 nights a week (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday).
- Highlights: Live music, non-stop vibes, great food, and iconic drinks.
- Note: Be sure to book early if you want to get out on the dance floor!
- Gertie’s Salon & Bar | Cocktail Bar in Palm Springs
Review of Doris K Reed's - A Woman and Her Poetry Oct 4th
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WOMEN WHO LIFTED THE BAR
History remembers the great speeches, the marches, and the men standing at microphones. Less often does it remember the women who quietly built the foundations beneath them.
Septima Poinsette Clark was one of those women.
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1898, the daughter of a formerly enslaved man, Clark became a teacher in the segregated South. She understood something profoundly simple: **education was power, and literacy could be a revolutionary act.**
In 1956, after nearly forty years of teaching, she was fired for refusing to give up her membership in the NAACP. She lost her livelihood and, for years, her pension. But she did not lose her purpose.
Instead, she helped build the Citizenship Schools, teaching thousands of Black Americans to read, write, understand their rights, and navigate the literacy tests deliberately designed to keep them from voting. She wasn't simply teaching people to read words on a page. She was teaching them to claim their place in a democracy that had spent generations denying them a voice.
Rosa Parks attended one of her workshops. Martin Luther King Jr. recognized the importance of her work. Yet Clark also confronted sexism within the Civil Rights Movement itself, where women did much of the organizing while men received much of the credit.
She was called the *Mother of the Movement*, though her name rarely receives the recognition it deserves.
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New Art Class: Everything Drawing is a weekly no-grade, no judgement class developing the skills, techniques and knowledge of the foundation of all art, drawing. Each class starts with a presentation of the day's focus then moving to the day's individual skill practice. A broad variety of drawing media will be used. All skill levels are welcomed.
This ongoing class meets on Wednesdays, 1 to 4. Start when you are ready or stop by for a visit.
Fee: $30 per class or $100 for 4
Contact me, Cathy at 707-363-2698 to register and receive the supply list.
More Information
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Registration for the 2026 Palm Springs Pride 5K Run & Walk is approaching capacity.
Palm Springs Front Runners and Walkers are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support the Palm Springs Pride 5K Run & Walk has received. Participation has grown steadily over the years, and this year's response has exceeded our expectations.
The participant limit was established in collaboration with local agencies to support public safety, maintain a high-quality participant experience, and support the responsible use of community resources; registration is limited to 1,200 participants. Once capacity is reached, registration will close and no additional entries will be accepted.
Palm Springs Pride 5k Run & Walk
This is a great organization, and their grant covers my costs for the newsletter, zoom and the website. If you are not a walker or runner, please consider volunteering for this event. They need volunteers to keep the runners and walkers on route, give out water etc. It's a fun day for everyone.
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Satin & Soul: Beautiful Women, Hot Jazz, and a Little Good Trouble!
There is something about a beautiful woman playing the saxophone that makes a lesbian's heart leap to life. And when that woman is Pamela Williams, “The Saxtress,” well, we may need to loosen our collars.
On Saturday, November 14, Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs will be heating up with Satin & Soul, an evening of smooth jazz, blues, soul, and some seriously talented women who know how to make music get under your skin.
Pamela Williams is no ordinary saxophonist. She has toured with Patti LaBelle and Teena Marie, worked with some of the biggest names in music, and built an extraordinary career in a field long dominated by men. Her playing slips between silky seduction and full-bodied funk. She doesn't just play the saxophone. She makes it breathe, ache, flirt, and occasionally behave very badly.
And then there's Sweet Baby J’ai. Lord have mercy.
If you haven't stood in a crowd when Sweet Baby J’ai launches into Meet Me with Your Black Drawers On, there is a small but significant hole in your life experience. This woman can take a room full of respectable grown-ups and have them hollering, laughing, swaying their hips, and forgetting every promise they made to behave themselves.
A powerhouse of jazz, blues, poetry, and pure human electricity, Sweet Baby J’ai has spent decades breaking musical boundaries. A U.S. Jazz Ambassador, she is also the founder and artistic force behind the Sunset Music & Education Foundation. She doesn't simply entertain an audience. She reaches into it, stirs something loose, and sends everyone home a little more alive.
And just when you think things couldn't get hotter, Laurie Morvan joins the Women in Jazz All-Stars. This blues-rock powerhouse can make a guitar cry, growl, and testify, sometimes all in the same breath. With musical director Sunnie Paxson bringing it all together, this promises to be one delicious evening of music.
There will be two bars, a dance floor, and a room full of grown folks who know that getting older doesn't mean we've forgotten how to have a good time. Quite the opposite. We've had years to perfect it.
Best of all, the evening benefits the Sunset Music & Education Foundation, whose SMARTS Initiative provides young people with musical instruments, mentorship, scholarships, and opportunities to discover their own creative voices.
So gather your friends, put on something fabulous, and come ready to groove. A little satin, a lot of soul, and just enough trouble to make the evening memorable.
Saturday, November 14, 2026 | 7 PM
Hotel Zoso | 150 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
Benefiting the Sunset Music & Education Foundation!
Click Here: TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Satin & Soul Concert - SBJ Shoutout
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Lesbian & Queer Women’s Tea Dance (The Center)
When: Sunday November 1
Where: Nashville Kitchen & Bar
262 S Palm Canyon Dr.\PS,VA 92262
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Sapphic Coffee & Convo
Wednesday, November 4
9:30-11 am
Hot Lips Coffee Shop
68461 E. Palm Canyon
Cathedral City
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Lesbian & Queer Women’s Social
Wednesday, November 18
5:30-7:00pm
Arrive Palm Springs
1551 N Palm Canyon
PS
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AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH CRIS WILLIAMSON
**Dinner • Music • Stories • Celebration**
Join us for a very special evening honoring a voice that changed a movement—legendary songwriter, trailblazer, and icon **Cris Williamson**.
Enjoy an intimate dinner and performance as Cris shares her music and stories, and we celebrate five remarkable decades of inspiring generations.
**Sunday, November 15** **Living Out Palm Springs**
**Seating is extremely limited. Reserve early.**
**SAVE THE DATE: Tickets go on sale September 15.**
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the **Sunset Music & Education Foundation**.
Sunset Music and Education Foundation
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Reel Women’s Film Festival Benefiting Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest
Celebrates 13th Year with Powerful Stories
Palm Springs, CA – Planned Parenthood’s 13th annual Reel Women’s Film Festival takes place on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.
The festival, chaired by Eileen Stern and the dedicated Festival Committee, has become a testament to the power of storytelling and its ability to inform and move people toward empathy and action. Welcome | Reel Women's Film Festival
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COMMUNITY CALENDAR SNAPSHOT
🎶 Please check venues for updates or possible changes.
Entertainment
WEEKLY EVENTS
Gennine Francis
Saturdays at 6:00 PM Venue: The Roost Tickets: ticketbud.com
Sundays from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Venue: Gertie's Salon and Bar (at Alice B's Restaurant) Details: Reservations suggested.
Leanna Rogers (with Miguel)
Mondays from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM Venue: The V Lounge Details: $7.50 cover charge.
Thursdays from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Venue: Hyatt Hoodoo Lounge (Palm Springs)
Wednesdays: October 14 & October 28 from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM Venue: Babaloo's
Keisha D'
Sunday, October 18 at 5:00 PM Venue: The Roost Tickets: ticketbud.com
Thursday, October 29 at 6:00 PM Venue: The Roost Tickets: ticketbud.com
Marisa Corvo
Thursdays from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM (including Oct 15 & Oct 22) Venue: Gertie's Salon and Bar
Wednesdays: Oct 14, Oct 28, Nov 11, Nov 25, Dec 9, Dec 23 at 6:30 PM Venue: The Roost Tickets: ticketbud.com
🪩 Social
Mahjong (American) Thursdays & Fridays 1pm to 3:30pm
Weekly Chat Group - Zoom - Thursdays 5PM
🌿 Outdoors
Bird Walks – 2nd & 4th Thursdays | Prescott Preserve
Easy/Moderate/Difficult Hikes – Tuesdays & Saturdays
Easy Walk - Wednesday Starting Wed 21st at Prescott Preserve
💬 Community & Support
PALS Seminars & Death Café
Evening Chat Group – Thursdays 5 PM
BAM Book & Movie Club – Monthly
Scroll down to COMMUNITY CALENDAR DETAILS for more information on these events
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Upcoming Events & Schedule
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YACHT ROCK HALLOWEEN / LADIES PARTY!
Oct 28th
Low Desert/Modern Mexican
5 to 9PM
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Nov 8th at the Plaza
Fortune Feimster is a critically acclaimed comedian, actress, and host known for her upbeat style, unique comedic perspective, and infectious energy. She invites audiences into her world where laughter and love reign supreme.
She recently wrapped production on the Netflix film The Fifth Wheel, starring alongside Kim Kardashian, Nikki Glaser, and Brenda Song, and directed by Eva Longoria. She will next be seen opposite Will Ferrell in Hawk, Netflix’s upcoming golf comedy series premiering in July 2026, and is currently on her national “Takin’ Care of Biscuits” tour. Most recently, she voiced “Nibbles” in Disney’s Oscar-nominated animated hit Zootopia 2, which grossed $1.8 billion worldwide.
FORTUNE FEIMSTER: TAKIN' CARE OF BISCUITS (ENCORE) | The Plaza Theatre
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Jane Lynch's A Swingin' Little Christmas Featuring Kate Flannery & Tim Davis with The Tony Guerrero Quintet - Dec 15th
Classic holiday tunes come to life as Jane Lynch, Kate Flannery, Tim Davis, and the Tony Guerrero Quintet take the stage in "A Swingin' Little Christmas.” This hilarious and heartwarming holiday extravaganza promises to be a delightful blend of comedy and music, ensuring a ‘swingin’ good time. The group has brought their joyful banter to audiences across the country, with their holiday album “A Swingin’ Little Christmas” hitting Billboard’s Top 10 Adult Contemporary chart. Hollywood Digest calls it “captivating,” the comedy “spectacular” and the vibe “absolutely precious.”
Jane Lynch's A Swingin' Little Christmas | The Plaza Theatre
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Samantha Bee wants to talk about menopause. She actually doesn’t want to, but she must. In How To Survive Menopause, Bee comically shares everything she has learned through the process in an intimate one-woman show, because everyone needs that best friend who will keep it real for them. Like, really real. This is a show for anyone who is going through it, has gone through it, will be going through it, or knows someone currently going through it…basically the entire population
Samantha Bee | The Plaza Theatre
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BAD DOG
February 26 - March 13, 2027 at The Bent
written and directed by Jennifer Hoppe-House
After years of being clean and sober, Molly Drexler drives her Prius through the house, leaving a sedan-sized hole in the wall that serves as a metaphor for what can no longer be ignored. When her beleaguered wife gets her home from the hospital, Molly’s far-flung and riotous family are descending for an intervention, and as the events of her blackout emerge, her family tries to cope with her wreckage, and in the process, runs headlong into their own. This is BAD DOG. The Bent is proud to present the west coast premiere of this powerful story wrapped in barbed wire.
Buy Tickets
Jennifer Hoppe – writer and producer jennifer hoppe
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🏓 PICKLEBALL TIPS:
🏆 PICKLEBALL DRILLS AND TOURNAMENTS:
| | COMMUNITY EVENTS DETAIL & SIGNUPS | | |
Mahjong (American)
1PM to 3:30pm Thursdays
In a private home for summer.
Mahjong Signup
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Every Sunday
Mountain View Grill
28555 Landau Blvd
Cathedral City, 92234
2:00-3:30
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BAM (Book & Movie) Discussion Group
We are an online book and movie club that has been gathering via Zoom/online since 2020. Every member gets the chance to pick a book or movie and lead the discussion for their selection!
Upcoming Schedule
- Summer Break: August (No meeting)
- Resuming: Monday, September 21, 2026 | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM PT
- Meetings: We meet regularly on the 3rd Monday of each month.
Upcoming Selections
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September 21: So Gay For You: Friendship, Found Family and the Show that Started it All by Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey
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October 19: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
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Easy/Moderate/Difficult Hikes
On Hold for Summer, Starting again in October
Hikes are Tuesdays and Saturdays, weather permitting..
Sign up below to receive hiking information
New hikers must register and sign a waiver.
Sign up below for email notifications.
With the heat now, hikes are pretty much over for the season
https://form.jotform.com/252917689579178
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2026 Walks
On Hold for Summer, Starting again in October
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Evening Chat Group 5pm to 6:30pm PST Every Thursday
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 JayneStrelecki@gmail.com to receive the weekly invite & reminder with Zoom meeting ID and Passcode. Bring a friend! Hosted by Cindy T and Jayne!
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Entertainment - This Week's Recommendation
Tenzing | Apple TV
We all know the name Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. But what about the man who stood beside him?
Tenzing finally gives Himalayan Sherpa Tenzing Norgay his rightful place in history. Directed by Jennifer Peedom and starring Genden Phuntsok and Tom Hiddleston, this beautifully filmed adventure takes us into the breathtaking, unforgiving Himalayas, where courage, ambition, friendship, and cultural divisions collide.
What makes the story particularly moving is the difference in how the two men see the mountain. For Western climbers, Everest is a summit to conquer. For Tenzing, Chomolungma is sacred, a living presence deserving reverence rather than conquest.
More than a mountaineering adventure, this is a story about dignity, perseverance, and the people history too often leaves standing in someone else's shadow.
Kim
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Dr. Karyl Ketchum, the Director of The L-Fund at The Center, has open office hours every Wednesday and Friday from 11:30 to 1:00 at The LGBTQ Center. (Because the habits of old professors die hard! 🤓) Whether you'd like to learn more about The L-Fund, ask a question, share an idea, borrow a book, or simply introduce yourself, come by and say hello! The L-Fund is on the second floor of The Palm Springs LGBTQ Center, 1301 North Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, 92262. Just follow The L-Fund signs! You can also call or email: karyl@thecentercv.org or 760.416.7790. Learn more about The L-Fund’s work here.
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🎬 CASTING CALL: LOCAL PICKLEBALL SHORT FILM
🌍 AN INVITATION FROM SUNNIVA SORBY: TWO EXPEDITIONS
"Fellow Explorers and Friends, I have two wonderful invitations for you—one for this upcoming fall, and one for next year. Whether you walk 800 kilometers or 800 meters, I want you walking with us. See you out there!"
— Sunniva x
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Lesbian Owned Business
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
B's Table
Local Lesbian Authors
Animal Samaritans - Pets for Adoption Fur babies needing family at Animal Samaritans
Shelter — Animal Samaritans
Special Thanks to Frontrunners for their ongoing support of LPSCV
Palm Springs Front Runners & Walkers is a running and walking club for members and friends of the LGBTQ+ community in the Coachella Valley. We are a local chapter of International Front Runners, an informal network of LGBTQ+ running groups around the world. Membership is open to everyone without regard to ability, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Join for daily runs and walks! Palm Springs Front Runners & Walkers - Home
| | PALS - Planning Ahead for LGBTQ Seniors | | |
PALS no-cost seminars provide up-to-date info and resources to own your
future, engage in essential conversations and take action because it’s never too soon to start planning ahea
For program updates and to sign up for upcoming PALS Seminars, Death Cafes and PALS Circles, please visit palsinthedesert.com.
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PALS Death Cafe at 2 pm on the 1st Thurs each month provides a group
led and safe space to have open conversations about death and dying without taboo.
For program updates and to sign up for upcoming PALS Seminars, Death Cafes and PALS Circles, please visit palsinthedesert.com.
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.PALS CIRCLE for an hour of connection, support and friendship among
LGBTQ+ seniors and allies. No formal topic — just fun conversation and
camaraderie each Monday from 6:00 to 7:00 PM on ZOOM.
For program updates and to sign up for upcoming PALS Seminars, Death Cafes and PALS Circles, please visit palsinthedesert.com.
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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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