For well over three decades, the White Party Palm Springs has been promising the gay community of Southern California and beyond at least one weekend when they could tune out the noise and just follow where the music and their hearts took them. But those hearts will be skipping a beat in 2025… and not in the magical butterflies-in-the-stomach and firecrackers-in-the-dancing-shoes kind of way. More in the potential cardiac arrest kind of way.
Is This the End of the White Party Palm Springs?
For months, whispers have been making the rounds. Could the White Party Palm Springs have reached a bafflingly unceremonious conclusion? Social media updates were suspiciously non-existent. Direct questions from regulars and media outlets alike were met with a deafening silence. And then, suddenly, the White Party’s official site went down.
But it wasn’t until two weeks into the new year that White Party Palm Springs Executive Producer Chris Diamond confirmed that organizers were hitting “pause” on the most anticipated circuit party in the Coachella Valley. And while “pause” is a maddeningly ambiguous statement, Diamond has thus far refused to verbally commit to a 2026 return. So is this a hiatus? Or is this the actual end?
The “Small” Start of the White Party
The White Party started as humbly as something so iconic can. Jeffrey Sanker decided to host a weekend-long party for 500 of his friends at the Marquis Hotel. For a personality as large as Sanker’s, this was something of an intimate affair. He’d built a reputation on the party scene as a professional mover and shaker for clubs that need no introduction (but you’re going to get one anyway): Studio 54 and Private Eyes.
Yet, from the jump, it was obvious that the White Party was special. Keep in mind that 1989 was a time of intense homophobia, further amplified by the seemingly endless tragedy of HIV. Sanker’s intentions may have been modest, but he was offering the gay community sanctuary, dignity, and joy in a society that seemed to reiterate on a daily basis that they were somehow “wrong.”
The White Party Palm Springs became an annual excuse to dance away these worries in a supportive environment. Differences were exalted. Uniqueness was next to godliness. And all of that beauty that was repressed to fit some sort of rigid social mold was liberated in decadent glory. People started to travel from across the country (and eventually the world) to indulge in the event that allowed them to be themselves. And yet, the White Party never got caught up in pretension. It was somehow a massive event and casually welcoming simultaneously.
Whiting Out the Palm Springs Scene
As the White Party Palm Springs became a globally recognized event, it naturally grew from a single DJ party to something closer to a festival with some of the biggest names in pop culture headlining. Talents that have graced the White Party stage include:
- Mary J. Blige
- Ariana Grande
- Kesha
- Lady Gaga
- Jennifer Lopez
- Kylie Minogue
Suddenly, the “little” 500-guest party Sanker started had expanded to a guaranteed sell-out of the Palm Springs Convention Center. Not to say the promoter just wandered into it. He’d had to spar with the city for licenses and permits a-plenty. Chalk it up to growing pains. But eventually, Palm Springs embraced the White Party as a culturally vital aspect of its proud gay community… and perhaps more relevantly to the powers-that-be, a much-appreciated source of revenue.
The city even honored Sanker with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame. There were only about three months of any year that he wasn’t firmly entrenched in planning the next year’s party. A whim had commandeered Sanker’s life. And then the unthinkable happened.
The White Party Palm Springs as a Fixture of Gay Culture
In 2021, after a battle typically valiant of the way he’d lived his life, Sanker succumbed to liver cancer. In his foresight, he’d selected Chris Diamond to serve as the steward for the White Party Palm Springs, ushering it safely into the hearts of future generations. Diamond held a strong personal connection with the White Party. It was the first moment he’d witnessed an event elevated to the production value the gay community deserved. And this profound understanding made him a spirited choice as the heir to Palm Springs’ legendary circuit party. Under Diamond’s guidance, generations mixed and mingled in a world that, at least for the weekend, seemed to belong solely to them.
But the spirit of the White Party transcended these annual weekends with memories that provided support even as the community dispersed to corners of the world that weren’t always as welcoming as Palm Springs. This was perhaps best emphasized by the traditional T-Dance; a modern take on the traditional tea dances hosted in New York in the mid-century. These soirees were used as a way to perpetuate socializing in the gay community at a time when same-sex dancing and alcohol were forbidden by law for anyone identifying as homosexual.
Why is the White Party On Hiatus?
Now that we know that the White Party Palm Springs is canceled for 2025, the ultimate question remains: why? And unfortunately, we’re relegated to speculation. Some have posited that it’s just no longer financially feasible to host the White Party with the modern expenses of Palm Springs. After all, another of the area’s annual parties, Blatino Oasis, recently announced it was calling it quits just one year shy of its 20th anniversary.
But live music events well outside the borders of Palm Springs are facing tougher times amidst the country’s economic hardships. Just a handful of seemingly established events that were canceled in 2024 include Besame Mucho, Desert Daze, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Kickoff Jam, Blue Ridge Rock Festival, Float Fest, and Sudden Little Thrills. These festivals transcend scenes, genres, regions, and cultures, lending to the idea that big-ticket festival-style events may not be sustainable in the current market.
Bad Timing in Bad Times
No matter the reason behind it, the cancellation of the White Party Palm Springs has a particularly profound sense of sadness to it. Just as it came onto the scene at a time when the gay community really needed it, it’s leaving at a moment when surveys are indicating declining support for LGBTQ+ rights and protections in America. According to the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute non-profit, same-sex marriage support fell from 69% in 2022 to 67% in 2023. Meanwhile, the same report indicated that support for workplace protections for LGBTQ+ individuals declined from 80% in 2022 to 76% in 2023.
Organizers sadly can’t press the rewind button on the White Party. But this also feels like a terrible pause point from the perspective of a community that could really use a drink and a dancefloor.
