BY DIANE MARLIN-DIRKX
Tis the season! No, not that Merry Season, writ in fancy-schmancy script that twists your stomach into queasy knots as you wonder how you’re going to fill the stockings hung on the fireplace without burning the house down for the insurance, or wondering if anyone will take your first born to live in their basement until his ship comes in—hopefully before his dock rots. And, please, yes, we know it’s just past Halloween, yet we see a turkey in our future as we get our Gobble on (date-alert, Nov 27th). And then there’s the Jolly Old Elf himself in his sleigh, piloted by Rudolph, the reindeer’s red nose beacon and the worker-bee elves waving the Midwestern goodbye, which means standing in the middle of the road, even in a city like Milwaukee waving your arm and yodeling “Good bye” until both instruments hurt and the recipients are (finally) out of sight. Same script at the end of the December Holidays, but we’re getting ahead of our Elf. Sorry, couldn’t desist. We’re here to help you get into the Spirit of the Holiday season. All of them!
Friday through Sunday, November 14 – 16. Suffer from Bibliophilia? Get ye to the Cravens Student Services Center on the COD (College of the Desert) campus for the big book sale of the year fundraiser benefitting the Friends of the College of the Desert Libra]ry. Featuring casts of thousands of characters, plots, narratives. giggles, grueling situations, spies and spy-catchers, politics and politicians, you’ll be able to paw through pages, chapters and happy endings—or not. You know the drill, pick from shelves of fiction, non-fiction, biographies, autobiographies, books of pictures and poetry, coffee table books, cookbooks, textbooks, and on Sunday, you can bag A Bag of Books or $5. Oh, what a relief it is. Open to the public, except Members only on Sunday, Nov 13, 4-6 PM. More info, 760-333-0733. Location 43-500 Monterey Ave., Palm Desert.
Free! Saturday, November 15, 10-11:30 AM. AMFM Festival Panel Sponsor “Hollywood 101 – Where do you fit In?” PSWIFT (Palm Springs Women in Film and Television), a local organization with ‘connections’ to Los Angeles offers unique educational, mentoring, and networking with programs that help members in the industry reach their full potential, while attracting new jobs, investment and production to the Coachella Valley. The panel will be moderated by producer, PSWIFT member and AMFM Festival Director Stephanie Bell. Panelists include Sylvia Schmitt, Locations Unlimited; Lynda Shaeps; Make-Up Artist and Educator, Jodi Roth-Ledesma, President, Blue Wave Media Distribution Company, Aleks Lyons, Writer, Producer and Former Director of International Licensing/Marketing for Paramount Pictures. Location: Mary Pickford Theta re, Cathedral City.
Saturday & Sunday, November 15 & 16, 10AM – 4 PM. There’s No Place Like A Home is the theme of the 8th Annual Super Pet Adoption Festival presented at Rancho Mirage Community Park(formerly Whitewater Park) by Loving All Animals who are dogged on their mission. Which is? “Our mission is to bring together local and national animal welfare organizations to work together,” says founder Lindi Biggi. “Together we will promote a no-kill community and soon a no-kill nation.” Homeless animals from shelters and rescues all over Southern California will be attending and you are sure to find one or two dogs, cats or birds to enrich your life. Of course there’s continuous entertainment on the stage and lots of food vendors. General Admission is $5.00 per person; children under 12 are free. For more info, go to www.lovingallanimals.org/super-pet-adoption-2014.html Or call 760-834-7000.
Wednesday, November 19, 7 PM. Marilyn, the Blonde Bombshell is all the Buzz in Rancho Mirage as she returns to the Desert for One Night Only! The Rancho Mirage Library will present the Hollywood cast in a reading of the original play, “Marilyn, Madness & Me,” which premiered to rave reviews in Los Angeles last fall at the iconic El Portal Theatre. Centered around the last few months of Marilyn Monroe’s life, the play has Valley roots. It was written and produced by Rancho Mirage resident and former Hollywood writer/producer, Frank V. Furino, from an original idea by Didier Bloch, owner of Café des Beaux Arts in Palm Desert, and directed by veteran stage director and Palm Desert resident, Joe Leonardo. “An imaginative script taken from a fascinating premise–I knew I wanted to direct it, the moment I read it,” said Leonardo. Ticket price, $15 each, with all proceeds supporting programming at the Rancho Mirage Public Library. For tickets and more information, visit; www.anchomiragelibrary.org/marilyn.html
Thanksgiving alert: due by Thursday NOV 20! Help a family in need this Thanksgiving, Nov 27th.. You donate and deliver to us, or you donate and we will gladly pick up from wherever you say. Can’t get a better deal than that! Please non-perishable food will benefit the Cielo Vista Community Child Care Center. Just call us at 760-773-9800. Thank you. Variety Children’s Charity of the Desert, Tent 66, 74-040 HWY 111, Ste.L-231 Palm Desert. Go to: www.varietyofthedesert.org
Friday, November 21, 6 PM – 9:30 PM. Get your RED on, shake out your napkin and join the Winewomen as they meet and greet, chat and chew over a multi-course Organic Wine Exchange Wine Dinner from reception to a sweet dessert goodnight, all paired with the finest, appropriate wines. Since 2004, when the American Heart Association took up the challenge to combat cardiovascular disease that claimed the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year, in 2014, the fight continues. This compassionate, emotional, social initiative is designed to empower women to learn, live and take charge of their heart health. This year they invite members and guests to Celebrate Go Red For Women at Bellatrix at the Classic Club, 75200 Classic Club Blvd., Palm Desert. Dress Code: Desert evening casual. RSVP/Prepay: By Nov. 18. Call Kathleen, 760-880-5 010, or email Kathleen@winewomenpsp.com
The 35th Annual Gala! Saturday, November 22, 6PM. A Night at the COPACABANA! Cocktails, Dinner and Dancing at the Riviera Resort and Spa in Palm Springs in, where else but the Grand Ballroom. It’s the Evening of Hope Gala, benefitting the Stroke Recovery Center that offers more than 10,000 free visits each year to over 280 patients for speech, mobility, cognitive therapy, and support for the families of stroke, traumatic brain injuries including those who have suffered from neurological disorders. Join the party for a rum tasting session with Rum Master and historian Richard Ross, cigar rolling demonstrations, the era of Copacabana with the elegance of music of the 40s and 50s provided by the Wayne Foster Orchestra and Entertainment. Tickets, $350 per person, sponsorship packages are available. For more information,, please contact Cheryl Scarlett at 760-323-7676, ext.112, or email cscarltt@strokerecoverycenter.org. The Stroke Recovery Center is a 501 (C)3 non-profit organization. Register online at www.strokerecoverycenter.org
“Don’t Be Clueless” wants to remind you that press releases for inclusion should be in to the Coachella Valley Weekly at least two weeks ahead of the scheduled event! Thanks!
