“A Free Interactive Party Celebrating Street-Art, Music, Food, and Fashion.”
By Esther Sanchez
Leaving no time to take a breath, much less a break following the success of last weekend’s 111 Music Festival, the visionaries at the non-profit group, The Coachella Valley Art Scene, are back to the grind with yet another community-oriented event that will showcase some of the desert’s most ground-breaking local performers and artists. This coming Saturday, November 7th from 5-10 pm, the good folks at Westfield, Palm Desert will host a group of edgy and talented young musical performers, artists, food vendors and more as the debut event unveiling their new venue concept, “The Deck,” located on the roof of the parking structure near Macy’s.
Sponsored by The City of Palm Desert, STREET is a free, all-ages event that will involve, “…art inspired by urban downtown streets and desert terrain, interactive craft projects, large-scale murals, sculptures and reclaimed furniture made by local artisans, live music from DJ Alf Alpha and SoCal hip hop, indie-soul, and reggae bands, food trucks and a Stuft Pizza pop-up restaurant, full bar, craft beer and wine stations, along with urban-edged fashion, graffiti glam from MAC Cosmetics, and more – all against panoramic views of the desert mountains and glittering lights of the city.”
Keeping in sync with their penchant for showcasing performers in unconventional settings while uniting art and commerce, The CV Art Scene director, Sarah Scheideman and her partner, marketing director, Ian Cush have done a phenomenal job reaching out and building bridges between local business owners, community leaders and young, artistic visionaries in a way that I have never seen before. It’s an eye and mind-opening experience to witness and the thought of this type of event (that will include a full bar for those who are of-age and wish to partake) will be free and taking place under the stars at the mall that I grew up shopping and hanging out at. I am not the only one who feels that way. Performing at Street, local MC, musician, and all around cool dude, Joshua Fimbres of Thr3 Strykes, feels somewhat nostalgic as well. Fimbres: “It’s crazy because I’ve gone to this mall my whole life. First time kissing girls, first cigarette, first kickflip, all at the mall. Now we get to do an event like this with the groovy people at CV Art Scene, we’re pumped.”
Every performer in the lineup I have spoken to seems to share a sense of pride to be chosen to perform for the community at an event that is ground-breaking in the desert.
Singer/songwriter/artist/photographer and vixen extraordinaire, Monica Morones, AKA “Cakes” will be debuting several new songs at STREET. Cakes: “Extremely excited to perform at this event! The Coachella Valley Art Scene put together something amazing that embodies the mind, body, and soul of every artist– music, fashion, art, food. The street theme is pretty much everything my music is about so it’s a perfect fit along with the other musicians and artists they have chosen to perform and represent this event.”
The live music alone is reason enough to head over to the mall next Saturday evening, but, the visual artists are not to be overlooked. In fact, if you have walked around the Westfield mall lately, specifically the bottom floor across from Aldo, you might have caught a little of what these guys have been up to in preparation for STREET. The Westfield folks have allowed the artists from The Coachella Valley Art Scene to utilize a previously vacant space as a studio/gallery where they have been working on individual pieces that will serve as a backdrop for the event in addition to the art pieces they will be creating live at the event itself. Although, I must be honest…..I spent some time at the studio with some of the artists and it wasn’t necessarily all work/no play. On the contrary, they were entertaining themselves while entertaining others…..at least those whose attention could be captured.
I had a great time watching artist and Coachella Valley native, Adam Enrique Rodriguez take over the open window-space of their storefront…..face painted with extra eyes and mouths, surprising and interacting with unsuspecting shoppers as they passed by, all for the love of expressing himself, drawing attention to the gallery and of course……for the simple love of their reactions which clearly brought him joy. Observing this display reminded me that The Coachella Valley Art Scene is bringing together good peeps.
Rodriguez: “Over the past few years, starting with the festivals, the Coachella Valley is transforming into a cultural epicenter and I feel that the local art scene is on the brink of some sort of social change in the atmosphere……a breakthrough. We have so much talent out here and it’s growing every day. We are about amplifying and expanding that and giving something for all people to connect with. Nothing else can do that like art and music. That is what CV Art Scene is doing and I am proud to be a part of it.”
That pride in representing The Coachella Valley Art Scene is something that is apparent among all of the artists who participate in their events. That is not surprising when you ask them what The CV Art Scene has done for them. La Quinta High School alumni, Chris Sanchez AKA Kas Infinite, a painter who was working in the studio during my visit gives a lot of credit to CV Art Scene’s founder/director, Sarah Scheideman, for what she does not only for the community, but the artists themselves. Sanchez: “Since the beginning, Sarah has been there for us in practical ways. She has not only nurtured and supported artists and given us platforms for us to showcase our work, but she has connected me with clients that have hired me for jobs creating art to meet their needs. Jobs I never would have even been considered for if it wasn’t for her facilitation. In the life of an artist, that type of guidance and connection is rare and priceless.”
For more information on STREET including the full lineup, schedule and some seriously entertaining and well-done promo videos, like The CV Art Scene at facebook.com/TheCVArtScene or check out their website TheCoachellaValleyArtScene.com
