The Human Rights Campaign is celebrating 25 years of its Palm Springs Garden Party with a Silver Palm Edition set for November 7, bringing the fundraiser back to the historic Dinah Shore Estate in Old Las Palmas. Photographer and philanthropist Michael Childers will receive the Community Impact Award, while Desert Chat's Sandie Newton will host the celebration and awards presentation.
According to KESQ, the Garden Party has long served as an annual fundraiser supporting HRC's broader work for LGBTQ+ equality across the country, powered locally by an all-volunteer steering committee in the Coachella Valley. This year's milestone edition adds a second honoree to the program: Variety Senior Culture & Events Editor Marc Malkin will receive the HRC Visibility Award for his career amplifying LGBTQ+ stories in mainstream media, according to The Hollywood Times.
Turner Classic Movies host, film expert, and author Dave Karger will present the Community Impact Award to Childers during the program, as reported by The Hollywood Times. Childers' donated fine art photography has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Coachella Valley organizations including DAP Health, The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, Palm Springs Art Museum, and the Palm Springs Gay Men's Chorus, the outlet notes, reflecting a five-decade career spent photographing Hollywood icons and cultural figures.
A Mid-Century Landmark Hosts the Silver Palm Edition
The venue itself carries its own history. The Dinah Shore Estate was designed in 1964 by desert modernist architect Donald Wexler and spans a 7,022-square-foot home on 1.3 manicured acres, according to Atomic Ranch. Originally commissioned by the entertainer whose name it still bears, the property remains one of the Coachella Valley's most recognized mid-century modern design landmarks.
The Garden Party's milestone weekend also overlaps with an HRC summit running in Palm Springs from November 5 through 7. Per the Human Rights Campaign, summit registration includes admission to the Garden Party itself, drawing national Federal Club Council members into town for the same weekend. Garden Party Executive Producer Brian O'Connor holds dual national leadership roles, serving on the Board of Directors for both the Human Rights Campaign and the HRC Foundation, illustrating the tie between the all-volunteer local steering committee and HRC's national governance.
Palm Springs' Record on LGBTQ+ Recognition
The city has built a recent track record with HRC's national rankings. Palm Springs earned back-to-back perfect scores of 100 on HRC's Municipal Equality Index in 2023 and 2024, which led to the city receiving HRC's Community Leadership Award at the 24th Garden Party in November 2025, according to Gay Desert Guide. Then-Mayor Ron deHarte accepted that award on the city's behalf.
In HRC's 2025 Municipal Equality Index, four neighboring Coachella Valley cities posted top ratings: Palm Springs at 100, Cathedral City also at 100, Rancho Mirage at 98, and Palm Desert at 97, the same outlet reports. The index evaluates municipal non-discrimination laws, employer practices, and public services across participating cities.
That regional showing lines up with Palm Springs' demographics. At least a third of the city's population identifies as gay or lesbian, according to the Bay Area Reporter. That population grew significantly beginning in the 1980s, reshaping the city's civic and cultural life in the decades since.
Palm Springs' political history reflects that shift. In November 2017, the city made national history by electing the first all-LGBTQ+ city council in the United States, made up of three gay men, a transgender woman, and a bisexual woman, The Guardian reported at the time, a moment that drew national and international media attention when the council took office.
Now in its 25th year, the Garden Party stands as one of the longer-running threads connecting that local history to HRC's national advocacy calendar, with this year's Silver Palm Edition folding in a new honoree, a new presenter, and a storied desert address into the celebration.
