The city’s annual Gay Pride Festival is a sanctioned Palm Springs event – a fabulous Gay parade followed by live entertainment, food and dancing which continues long into the evening and especially at Arenas Street’s many gay bars. Today the City of Palm Springs has the highest per capita gay population in the US, if not the world.Palm Springs has an exciting lineup of ever changing Gay and/or Gay-oriented events including the International Film Festival, the Short Film Festival, Cinema Diverse (the gay and lesbian film festival), the Nabisco Classic (formally the Dinah Shore Classic) and of course the infamous White Party. The Gay population is now estimated at more than 50 percent of the annual resident population. In recent years, Palm Springs has experienced a huge influx of new Gay residents and Gay businesses. The town’s atmosphere is laid back resort casual with many small village charming shops and unique specialty stores, especially in the Uptown Arts and Antique District on North Palm Canyon Drive.There is something truly special about Gay Palm Springs beyond its beautiful oasis setting in the Southern California dessert. Our climate is the envy of the world, with more than 330 days of sunshine each year. Gay Palm Springs is a huge outdoor playground with consistently brilliant sunshine, great for sunning and all types of outdoor activities. Why is Palm Springs so appealing to the Gay traveler?