As California’s first Pride celebration of 2026 marks its 10th anniversary with the powerful theme “CommUNITY Strong,” DAP Health stands front and center — not just as a participant, but as a Platinum Sponsor through its Stonewall Medical Center.
Words by Daniel Vaillancourt
For DAP Health, participation in Cathedral City’s LGBT+ Days from March 6 to 8 is more than a sponsorship. It’s a reflection of the organization’s enduring commitment to LGBTQ+ health, visibility, and equality across the Coachella Valley and beyond. Produced by Montage Events, the rainbow festival has grown into a signature regional event, celebrating a decade of community pride and progress.
“DAP Health is proud to be the Platinum Sponsor of the 10th Annual Cathedral City LGBT+ Days and to shine a light on our Stonewall Medical Center right here in Cathedral City, which has been serving the LGBTQ+ community since 2020,” says DAP Health Chief Marketing Officer Steven Henke. “This partnership brings health care and celebration together, making sure health equity stays front and center at one of the desert’s favorite LGBTQ+ events.”
DAP Health will promote LGBT+ Days across its own platforms, including its weekly internal newsletter reaching almost 1,000 team members, a digital billboard at Sunrise and Vista Chino, and its social media channels.
Revivals, DAP Health’s brand of resale stores, joins in supporting the affair as a Gold Sponsor, helping to promote attendance at all its stores and via its weekly REV Club email. The retailer is also shifting its weekly sale to focus exclusively on inviting its shoppers to the Cathedral City location to enjoy 50% off all pre-loved merchandise on Saturday, March 7.
These coordinated efforts reflect a comprehensive approach: engaging patients, team members, donors, shoppers, and the broader community in a shared celebration of pride and progress.
Face-to-face engagement all weekend
Throughout the weekend, DAP Health’s physical presence will be strongly felt. The nonprofit — which was founded as Desert AIDS Project in 1984 to provide support services for gay men dying of HIV who’d been shunned by many friends and family members, not to mention their own government — will host two large community engagement tents during Saturday’s festival.
Members of DAP Health’s Community Health team will do outreach to participants, talking about sexual health (STI prevention, PrEP/PEP for HIV prevention), stigma reduction, harm reduction, and overall wellness.
The organization will also sponsor a friendship bracelet activity booth where attendees can create small, meaningful tokens to celebrate belonging and to remember that we are stronger, healthier, and more supported when we’re connected. The bracelets are a tangible symbol to take away and keep long after the weekend is over — or to share with friends and/or strangers on the spot.
On Sunday, Stonewall will participate in the Parade and Bed Race. Having designed and built a custom bed structure for the parade and racing contest, four team members will push the platform while one rider takes center stage, adding both creativity and competitive spirit to the festivities.
Further underscoring DAP Health’s role as a supporter of the LGBT+ community, the organization’s Medical Director of Specialty Programs Dr. Jason Halperin will serve as a Bed Race judge. The longtime HIV clinician — who splits his time at DAP Health between Stonewall Medical Center and Centro Medico Escondido on the San Diego coast — is also profiled in LGBT+ Days’ Guide to Pride.
About Stonewall Medical Center
Since 2020, this multi-service practice provides comprehensive, culturally responsive care for the LGBTQ+ community and the broader Coachella Valley, delivered by clinicians trained to affirm diverse identities, relationships, and lived experiences.
The entire team starts with listening — creating a space where patients feel safe, respected, and supported — because it’s been proven that that approach improves health outcomes.
With integrated medical services and an on-site DAP Health pharmacy working directly with clinicians to coordinate prescriptions, navigate insurance, and personalize medication support, Stonewall makes it easier to stay on track with everything from primary care and HIV specialty care to gender health and wellness as well as sexual wellness (including free STI testing and treatment, and free PrEP and PEP services for the prevention of HIV).
A history of community visibility
For DAP Health, participation in Cathedral City LGBT+ Days is deeply rooted in its history. Events like these provide an opportunity to connect with residents in joyful spaces while continuing to advance health equity, prevention, and care.
The weekend’s theme, “CommUNITY Strong,” resonates powerfully with DAP Health’s mission of providing comprehensive health care and support services where everyone is seen, heard, and affirmed.
DAP Health’s leadership role highlights the enduring partnership between health advocacy and LGBTQ+ celebration in the Coachella Valley. Because Pride is more than a parade. It’s a chance for the community and its allies to show up, show support, and stand together as one.
