White Party Palm Springs, the largest gay circuit party in California, will move from the Palm Springs Convention Center to the Palm Springs Air Museum in 2020.
After 25 years, White Party Palm Springs founder Jeffrey Sanker said it’s time for a change to a new venue for the night events.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday parties will take place at The Palm Springs Air Museum for the first time ever during the 2020 White Party – which will take place April 24 – 27, 2020 in Palm Springs. They just announced dancer, choreographer, and singer Todrick Hall to perform – he blew us away at NYC World Pride. Meghan Trainor will be performing at the T-Dance following acts in past years such as Deborah Cox and Kylie Minogue.
The daytime pool parties will be held at the Hilton Hotel and the Circus T-Dance once again will be held at the White Party Park. It was just a year ago that WPPS moved from the Marriott Renaissance pool to the Hilton.
“Twenty-five years in one location is a long time, and I’ve been eyeing the Palm Springs Air Museum for a couple of years now,” Sanker said. “It’s a new decade and I feel like doing something new, not just for me, but for my attendees.”
In the last three years, the party grew from 20,000 to 30,000 attendees, Sanker told the Desert Sun.
“People get a little tired of being in the same place and we’re growing,” Sanker added. “(The air museum) has three large hangars and these beautiful iconic airplanes. It’s part of Palm Springs history.”
The group AEG with anti-LGBTQ ties has “nothing to do” with the move according to the article. The group who also controls Coachella is in final negotiations to take over management of the convention center which is behind the Renaissance and Hilton Hotels in Palm Springs. AEG chairman Philip Anschutz has given charitable contributions to organizations with anti-LGBTQ ties, prompting calls to boycott Coachella. He has denied being homophobic and has said he stopped supporting certain groups after learning about their anti-LGBTQ actions.
One of the reasons for the move is that the air museum is cheaper to rent than the convention center. He also said the air museum won’t require him to use “high-priced vendors.”
The biggest reason for the move was allegedly for more outdoor space. The party promoter said they were stuck indoors and if you wanted to get away from the music, you couldn’t. They will have bars outside on the tarmac with airplanes lit up in the background, and you can get away from the party.
Tickets were the bigger problem
The biggest problem with the convention center and the hotel ballrooms hosting the White Party were the meddling with tickets at the bars. We would stand in LONG lines just for a water. Sanker my look into how they did the MasterCard passes at the WE Party and NYC Pride Island Pier where it was fast and efficient. Update: We were told they take credit cards at the new venue (so let’s hope).
It strikes us as odd that they would say that outdoor space was a problem at the convention center they had a huge outside area.
Walking to a Flight Museum instead of next door?
You won’t be walking. It would take an hour or so to walk. It’s about 11 minutes by car and over 4 1/2 miles on the other side of the actual airport to get to the party.
It will be interesting taking shuttles or uber over to the new event space. Although for most of us one of our favorite things about the White Party Palm Springs was not just the amazing performers such as Robyn, Kylie, and Lady Gaga but the convenience of walking to events. This will turn off many partygoers.
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