Learn what makes Palm Springs unique, from the Plaza Theatre’s return and midcentury modernism to its LGBTQ+ community and cultural landmarks.
Arts + Culture
Plaza Theatre Book Highlights Inaugural Palm Springs International Film Festival
This is the fourth excerpt in a five-part series tracing the history of The Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs. The storied venue opened Dec. 12, 1931, with the world premiere of Camille, starring Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor. This month, we turn to the 1990...
5 Things to Know About Palm Desert: Art, Events, Surf Club
Pioneering Public Arts Palm Desert was the first city in Riverside County to establish a formal Art in Public Places program. In 1986, the City Council signed an ordinance requiring that developers incorporate public art in their projects or pay a fee into the city’s...
10 Great Places to Hear Live Music From Palm Springs to Coachella
Each year, Palm Springs Life invites readers to vote for their favorite businesses, experiences, and attractions across Greater Palm Springs in our city-by-city Best of the Best competition. Below, you’ll find this year’s winners for Best Music. Explore the full list...
5 Questions With Cathedral City Artist Kim Manfredi
What do you love most about desert life? The desert gives me space — both physical and mental — to create. Its vast horizons, dramatic light, and quietude fuel my painting practice and allow my work the space to breathe. Cathedral City offers me a view that feeds my...
Singing the Birds Brings Ancient Cahuilla Songs to Palm Springs
The steady rhythm of gourd rattles and the layered voices of men and boys will fill the gymnasium as women and girls move in unison during Singing the Birds, the bird song and dance festival hosted by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians on Jan. 24, from 10 a.m....
Events, Tickets, Specials, and Good Reads
Wake Up With the Desert
Each morning, Palm Springs Life curates good reads and insider recommendations of the best things to do across Greater Palm Springs. Get The Daily Guide for fresh ideas, local flavor, and a daily dose of inspiration that’s actually worth reading.
Men of the Desert Fashion Show Sets Attendance Record
Animal Samaritans’ 16th annual Men of the Desert Fashion Show and Luncheon, presented by The Carl Jud Foundation, returned to the Palm Springs Air Museum with record-breaking excitement, welcoming more than 500 attendees — the largest audience in the event’s history....
23 Must-See Exhibitions in the Coachella Valley and High Desert
Jason Kowalski, Leonard Koscianski, and Iván Carmona Dec. 4–31 J. Willott Gallery This group exhibition unites the work of Jason Kowalski, Leonard Koscianski, and Iván Carmona — three artists who approach nostalgia, myth, and memory through different but complementary...
Photographer An-My Lê Returns to the High Desert With a New Installation
Nearly two decades after she first trained her lens on military exercises at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, photographer An-My Lê returns to the California desert — this time as a High Desert Test Sites fellow — to extend her inquiry...
Lisa Middleton to Receive DAP Health’s Community Service Award at The Chase
During her modest upbringing in the Southeast Los Angeles community of Bell Gardens, Lisa Middleton — the eldest of three born to an ironworker dad and stay-at-home mom — remembers one specific trip to the desert. “We took the tram when I was very young, in the ’60s,...
Inside Palm Springs Life’s December Issue Release Party at the Gerald Ford Estate
Palm Springs Life hosted an intimate release party for its December issue at the historic Gerald Ford Estate in Rancho Mirage, welcoming guests for a festive celebration and a closer look at the magazine’s latest edition featuring Jane Lynch. Homeowners John McIlwee...
3 Things to Know About Desert Hot Springs
Desert’s Best Tap Water Desert Hot Springs isn’t just home to mineral springs — it also boasts some of the best municipal drinking water in the world. Mission Springs Water District won third place at the 2025 Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, where water...
AIA California Desert Chapter Celebrates 40 Years at PKS3 Studio
The desert design community turned out Nov. 8 at PKS3 Studio in Palm Desert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the American Institute of Architects California Desert Chapter (AIACDC). Nearly 100 attendees filled the gallery of honorary AIACDC member Philip K. Smith...
8 Great Art Galleries to Visit in Palm Springs and Beyond
Best Blue Chip Your jaw will drop when you encounter masterworks ranging from Monet to Picasso to Warhol at Heather James Fine Art in Palm Desert. This world-class gallery packs impressive diversity — Mel Ramos’ pop pinups, William Wendt’s landscapes, and Ai Weiwei’s...
McCallum Theatre Expands Season and Community Outreach Under New CEO
When Yvonne Bell, the new CEO at the McCallum Theatre, was in the fifth grade, her mother took her out of class one day, and they went to the theater. “My mother said to me, ‘You’re going to get a much better education in that theater than you are in that classroom’ ”...
Where to Watch Broadway Shows in the Coachella Valley
You needn’t travel too far to give your regards to Broadway. It’s right here, from Palm Springs to Indio, in abundance. “Audiences are craving big, professional Broadway entertainment without having to spend Broadway prices,” says Ray Limon, musical director of Desert...
Design, Fashion, and Architecture Converge at Desert Design District Talk
The Desert Design District gathered Nov. 20 at Roche Bobois on El Paseo in Palm Desert for an evening exploring the interplay of design, fashion, and architecture — and to celebrate the U.S. debut of the showroom’s Pedro Almodóvar Cromatica Collection. The program...
Diamond Wish Ribbon Cutting Marks New Journey in Palm Desert
Diamond Wish, a fine jeweler known for high-quality craftsmanship and artistry, held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Nov. 6 grand opening of its new location at The Gardens on El Paseo, a premier shopping destination in Palm Desert, California. To welcome the...
Three Local Music Groups Find a New Home at the Restored Plaza Theatre
Thirteen men in black suits and white ties, standing in a courtyard at The Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, sang their a cappella hearts out: When I think of home, I think of a place Where there’s love overflowing Members of the Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus were...
Natasha Marin Finds Inspiration in Joshua Tree for New Electronic Album
A desert storm comes to Natasha Marin first through scent. “The creosote bushes, they emit that special oil,” she says. Color is next: After an enveloping darkness and deluge, out come “the oranges and purples, layers of different shades,” ending in a startling burst...
Kate Hudson on Music, “Song Sung Blue,” and Life in Palm Desert
