BY DIANE MARLIN-DIRKX
We love this time of year. The snowbirds have returned and are settling into the Desert lifestyle, making all our lives easier—no sitting in the left fast lane with a death-grip on the wheel looking for their turn, no counting out the exact change at the register (our milk is getting warm), the COD kids have valet jobs at our chi-chi El Paseo stores, the weather is, well, perfect (Don’t tell Minnesotans that. 18 inches of snow needs shoveling before they can poke around with a stick for the car). Best of all, we love the music, the Messiah oratorio, the Christmas carols, flash mob moments, harmonies, duets, church organ, piano, orchestra, guitars, violins, tambourine, chimes, bells, The Little Drummer Boy, The Nutcracker Suite , school pageants, the partridge in a pear tree, even “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” has a kind of charm during the season. Yes, thirteen-year-old performer Jimmie Boyd’s record was condemned by Boston’s Roman Catholic Church for mixing the recreational sport of kissing with the Christmas power of mistletoe, but all was forgiven when Boyd met with the Archdiocese. Holiday music. Bring it on!
Thanksgiving alert (Thursday, Nov 27): And Due by Thursday NOV 20—TODAY!! Help a family in need this Thanksgiving. You donate and deliver to us, or you donate and we will gladly pick up from you and deliver to a family. Can’t get a better deal than that! They accept non-perishable food to benefit the Cello Vista Community Child Care Center in their desperate need to celebrate a day of families gathering in love to give thanks for the bounty of feasting which since the earliest days of our founding has been named Thanksgiving. Call 760-773-9800. Variety Children’s Charity of the Desert, Tent 66, 74-040 HWY 111, Ste.L-231 Palm Desert. Online: www.varietyofthedesert.org
Thursday, November 20, 4 – 7 PM. No matter what kind of day he (or she) has had, when you come through the door, he or she wags the breezes at you. It’s time to bring your Best Friend to Rancho Las Palmas, now the OMNI Resort and Spa, across from The River in Rancho Mirage to one of the Desert’s most amenable- to -animals patio destinations. If you haven’t been, you haven’t arrived because “Yappy Hour” is a monthly opportunity for dogs and their human companions to socialize. Enjoy cocktails and conversation while mingling with other dog lovers. At the BlueEmber Restaurant, you’ll select appetizers and other foods from a gourmet menu at a special discount for Yappy Hour, musical entertainment including pet games for you both! Cost: Two drinks $10. Animal Samaritans receive ½ off all event fees.
Friday, November 21. 6 – 8 PM. The Season? It’s all about a party! This one, the 3rd year of “Meet the Galen” at the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert, is very cleverly a membership drive and a renew your membership Party which gains members complimentary entry. Beyond that, held in the atmospheric splendor of the Galen and Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden, , it remains one of the go-to events at the start of the season. Need we add that this Party is sell-out popular? This year’s theme”Hollywood Glamour” assures the party will be over-the top with luscious complimentary cocktails, seriously heavy hors d’oeuvres, outrageously outré models, a “lip-and-lash” bar, keepsake photo booth, swoon-worthy Big Band tunes and complimentary valet parking. Attendees must join or renew membership online or at the museum before November 20, 2014.Admission and membership purchase will be available at the door. Individual membership, $50 (includes one-year membership and single event admission). Non-renewing current members may purchase a ticket to the party for $40. No tickets will be sold without a museum membership. For more information, or to renew a current membership, please contact 760-322-4825 or go to www.psmuseum.org/meet-the-galen.
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 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. 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, benefiting 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
Wednesday, December 3, 7 PM, and Saturday, December 6, 3 PM. “Stars I Shall Find,” The Holiday Concert. Lifting their voices in the songs of the Holiday Season are the MODERN MEN, the Coachella Valley Men’s Chorus, a new 50 member men’s choral group, created under the Artistic Direction of , noted composer and director Bob Seeley, with piano accompanist Bruce Magnum. Put simply, the group says in chorus, “We are MODERN MEN, who love to sing. Our mission is dedication to Musical Excellence while creating Harmony through Diversity. “MODERN MEN is part of the growing cultural scene in the Coachella Valley. We are the fourth independent community chorus in the valley, and we welcome to our ranks all men in the Coachella Valley, who love to share their voices.” In fact, open rehearsals are Tuesday nights at Metropolitan Community Church, 32150 Candlewood Dr, Cathedral City, 7 to 10 PM. Hear them perform at Temple Isaiah, 332 W Alejo Rd., Palm Springs. Tickets, $25 per person purchased from a chorus member, or online at www.ModernMen.org
Monday, December 1, 7 – 10 PM. The 2nd Annual Desert Jam Session to benefit The Well in the Desert, an organization created to help feed, clothe and serve people in need, offering a daily hot meal program to over 135 people a day, six days a week, and sack lunches on Saturdays. They provide referral services daily, from mail and phone service to re-entry into jobs and living quarters, and much needed personal support for those in very difficult situations. Every Saturday a food distribution program serves seniors, the disabled, low income families with children, and anyone in need. More than 150-200 people each week take home groceries, helping to feed over 2000 people monthly. The event at the Purple Room, 1900 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, features television celebrity and the Valley’s weather guru Patrick Evans as master of ceremonies and the best of the desert’s jazz jammers. Admission, $75.00 includes heavy passed appetizers, CD, and show with many of the performers on the CD. Only 120 seats available. Call (760) 327-8577, or (760) 323-8353 for reservations, or visit www.wellinthedesert.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!
