Many may picture Palm Springs as a desert city full of nothing but retirees who spend their time golfing and enjoying the heat. This peaceful image is disrupted a few times a year during times of unrestrained celebration. Spring break, for example, may be a time that the more mature (but not quite that mature) traveler may avoid this area if they do not want to be surrounded by drunk college students.
Since the 90’s, various laws and ordinances have put a slight damper on this party-city image and have helped to class-up the area quite a bit. The area offers young families and wealthy singles the opportunity to live in a clean area ripe with retro style. Even with these changes, it’s foolish to think that Spring Break will not bring some amount of youngster looking to have a good time within the US borders. This certainly does not mean that you should avoid the area all together, just look slightly outside Palm Springs itself and you will find the peaceful getaway you crave.
Areas like Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and La Quinta are close enough to Palm Springs to enjoy all that the city has to offer but are far enough to avoid some of the more touristy issues you might find in the heart of Palm Springs. In fact, many of the attractions that people put on their Palm Springs vacation calendar are not actually in Palm Springs!
If you are a tennis fan, you won’t want to miss the BNP Paribas Open from March 8th to the 21st. This popular event is celebrating its 35th anniversary and will be held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Daily tickets range from $10-$80 and special promotions are available including free ticket giveaways (registration at www.bnpparibasopen.org is required for this particular promotion).
Just a reminder that Halloween is just around the corner! That not only means that you’d better start planning your awe-inspiring costume but it also means that the Phish Festival 8 concert is quickly approaching!
Every October, Agua Caliente Cultural Museum hosts Dinner in the Canyons, an event held in Andreas Canyon to benefit the museum’s many programs and exhibits. Since 1992, when the museum was founded, it has worked to preserve aspects of native culture. This year’s gala will focus on the cuisine, traditions, and culture of Native Hawaiians.
Crosby, Stills, and Nash (no Young) are coming to the desert. Join them on September 25th at the Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino. Take a break from the noise of the casino and enjoy some folk rock.
David Hyde Pierce joins Michael Feinstein on November 22nd at the McCullum Theatre for a night of musical fun. With two such talented performers, it’s sure to be an entertaining night.
Michael Feinstein is a singer, pianist, and archivist. His passion for “the Great American Songbook” was ignited when he was 20 years old and hired by Ira Gershwin to catalogue Gershwin’s impressive collection of phonograph records. This six year project not only helped to preserve the legacy of both Ira and George Gershwin but also lead to a life time friendship between Michael and Ira’s next door neighbor, Rosemary Clooney.
Michael’s first CD was entitled Pure Gershwin and was a compilation of music by none other than Ira and George Gershwin. After many other albums covering other musical greats, Feinstein recorded two more Gershwin albums, Nice Work if You Can Get It and Michael and George.
When you think of a desert zoo, what comes to mind? Snakes? Scorpions maybe. Probably nothing too exciting. What about a desert garden? Even more bleak. Just a bunch of cacti, right? Wrong. Allow the Living Desert to show you what the desert has to offer.
