Sixth Drone Light Show Bound for Cathedral City

Drone Light Show Expected as Part of Ninth Annual Cathedral City LGBT Days

CATHEDRAL CITY — The ever-popular drone light show is expected to make its sixth appearance in this community for California’s first Pride event of the year, the Ninth Annual Cathedral City LGBT+ Days.

Communications and Events Director Ryan Hunt will recommend to the City Council on Wednesday to accept a gift in the amount of $50,000 from Grizzly Entertainment and approve $5,000 in crew travel expenses for a drone light show at Cathedral City LGBT+ Days 2025. Hunt has given them no reason to say no.

The 200-drone unit light show took place at the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival from 2022-2024, as well as LGBT+ Days in 2023 and 2024.

The 10-minute show comes two months after several drones collided and fell from the sky during a holiday show over the weekend in downtown Orlando, Fla., injuring a 7-year-old boy who required surgery, according to the Associated Press. The drones fell into a crowd of thousands of people watching the show at the city’s Lake Eola Park Saturday night. The show was permitted through the FAA.

Hunt told Uken Report that the drone show used to be located at the 13.5 acres across from the casino that’s now the site of the Cathedral Cove development. Starting in 2023, it moved Grizzly Entertainment to a new site located closer to the Cathedral City Senior Center, which offers better sightlines for viewing wherever you are in Downtown.

“We believe that being able to see the show from several vantage points prevents vehicles and patrons from feeling the need to drive or walk close to the drone launch site,” Hunt said, “In addition, Grizzly Entertainment establishes a safety perimeter around the performance area, and their drones are programmed to fly within designated zones away from spectators. Their team of certified operators monitors the show in real-time to ensure everything proceeds as planned, following strict safety protocols.”

In addition to having police and private security on site, the crowd is never directly under the drones, Hunt said. They are hundreds of feet away from any festival activity and don’t surround spectators.