Friday night, October 25th, was the LGBT Community Center of the Desert’s 10th annual Center Stage event at The Riviera Resort & Spa. The evening’s Presenting Sponsor was Eisenhower Health and its Premier Sponsors included David Hood and George Sellers, Western Wind Foundation, and Harold Matzner.

Billed as a “turn back the clock” evening, attendees were encouraged to come in their finest 80’s outfits and have a “freakin’ righteous time.” And some did exactly that! I was shy about taking pictures, but there were men wearing convincing long hair do’s and blindingly shiny suits and women with lots of eye liner and shoulder pads for days. One of the evening standouts was a woman wearing her Jane Fonda exercise outfit, complete with sweatband and leggings.

The evening featured both silent and live auctions and appeared to be a successful fundraiser, judging from the generosity of the live auction bidders. Mike Thompson, The Center’s CEO, spoke compellingly about the work of The Center and how much they have been able to do to increase the services they offer. A theme of the evening was that The Center will have handled more than 80,000 visits this calendar year.

The evening also paid tribute to long time Board member Brian Rix, recognizing him for his commitment and years of service.

For more information about The LGBT Community Center of the Desert, visit their website at https://www.thecenterps.org or call them at 760-416-7790.