The Palm Springs International Film Festival has become one of the main film festivals in the country.  Although most probably fly in private jets, Palm Springs' proximity to LA makes it easy for the stars to drive to attend the event which maximizes the star power of this film festival.  While this may not be the Oscars, this is an amazing film festival featuring hundreds of films from over 60 countries and a large attendance of celebrities.  If you've ever watched the Oscars, or other major award shows, and wanted to be a part of the glamour, this is your opportunity to do so while also being in sunny Palm Springs in January when the weather is in the 70's and 80's. 

The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Johnny Depp with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor at its annual Awards Gala for his performance in Black Mass. Each year the festival selects an actor and actress to receive this award. The Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart and presenting sponsor Entertainment Tonight, will be held Saturday, January 2, at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 1-11.

Johnny Depp is one of the most versatile and dynamic actors of our time,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “In his latest film, Black Mass, Depp, in a stunning transformation, creates a gripping and multi-layered portrait of infamous gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. He delivers an astounding performance that has earned raves from both critics and audiences and is sure to garnerawards attention. It is our honor to present the 2016 Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Johnny Depp.”
Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne. In the years they were honored, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award® for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth and Pitt received Oscar® nominations.

This year's festival runs from January 1 - 11, 2016. The Festival’s glamorous centerpiece, the Awards Gala, scheduled for January 2, 2016, brings the world’s biggest stars to Palm Springs as it honors the year’s best performances both in front of and behind the camera. The 2015 Awards Gala, as an example, featured Julianne Moore, David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Benedict Cumberbatch, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon and Robert Duvall, among others.

Sun, Blue Skies, Warmth, Movie Stars, An Eleven Day Film Festival, New Years celebration, Pools, Spas, Chic Restaurants, Mountains, Palm Trees, etc, etc.  Its time to visit Palm Springs in January.  

What was once the old Desert Fashion Plaza in downtown Palm Springs is starting to look a lot more like the imagined retail, hotel, restaurants, office space, and outdoor venue that is planned for the prime real estate.  While driving on Palm Canyon the other day, I saw something that got me even more excited about the forthcoming downtown complex;  a banner hanging over the second story of one of the buildings that read "West Elm".  Here is that banner.

For those of you who don't know, West Elm is a furniture store that offers customers modern contemporary furniture at a moderate price point.  I've seen West Elm stores in many large cities across the US, but never in a small city like Palm Springs.  I've always enjoyed browsing these stores and think this brand, which I've learned will be an anchor tenant at the new complex, is a great fit for a city that embraces modernism like Palm Springs does.  From what I've read, Palm Springs will be the smallest city West Elm, part of the William-Sonoma brand, will call home.  Now, I don't want to get ahead of myself (which is hard to do since William-Sonoma is one of my favorite stores), but a William-Sonoma store may not be far behind. 

The picture above shows the Northern most part of the construction.  The Southern most part of the 14 acre site (which is at the intersection of Palm Canyon Dr. and Tahquitz) looks like this:

This part of the development is where the project's Kimpton Hotel, set to open in October 2016, is being erected.

Events are becoming an ever increasing part of bringing tourists to the Palm Springs area.  Many have actually attributed the current renewed interest in visiting Palm Springs to the Coachella Music & Arts Festival.  It was kind of like the big event that created worldwide awareness of the Palm Springs area again.  Between it, The Stagecoach Country Music Festival, Splashhouse, Palm Springs International Film Festival, White Party, BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament, Modernism Week, MOD Palm Springs and so many others, there are more and more reasons to come and spend some down time in the California desert.  Palm Springs...Its not just for Winter anymore.

For those of you who are exotic car enthusiasts, Palm Springs is proud to present, Desert Concorso, 2015; Desert Concorso is a lifestyle event featuring sports and GT cars from around the world.  Desert Concorso delivers an exclusive peek into the luxury and excitement of fast cars.  The event will showcase historically important GT, racing and sporting cars from, but not limited to Germany, France, the UK, Japan, and the US. This is in addition to all of the great Italian marques. The field will also include a few American hot rods with exceptional engineering and design qualities.  Auto aficionados Keith Martin and Donald Osborne who will be involved as emcees. 

This year, Desert Concorso will be held on Sunday, November 15 at Palm Springs Stadium located at 1901 E Baristo Rd.  The event leads a two-weekend car extravaganza now dubbed "Desert Car Week" in Palm Springs with Keith McCormick and McCormick's Palm Springs Collector Car Auction taking place the following weekend, November 20-22, 2015.

 

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced yesterday that its newest brand, Tribute Portfolio Resorts has taken over ownership of the Riviera Palm Springs. Before its debut as the Riviera Palm Springs, a Tribute Portfolio Resort, in November 2015, the property will undergo a multi-million dollar upgrade, including the addition of a new pool bar, wedding pavilion and enhanced lobby.  This is yet another example of how Palm Springs is becoming more of a world-class destination every day.  The investments into this great resort town just keep coming.  

I'm sure most of you know who Starwood Hotels and Resorts is.  If you don't know their name, you most certainly know of their brands including, St. Regis, W Hotels, Westin, Le Meridien and Four Points just to name a few.  

Firmly anchored in the four-star, upper upscale category, the Tribute Portfolio brand allows owners of distinct properties to maintain their independent spirit, while benefiting from Starwood's powerful distribution and loyalty. Launched in April 2015, Tribute is Starwood's newest and tenth brand.  The brand is comprised of exceptional independent hotels around the globe, offering guests and owners the ability to "Stay Independent."  From boutique resorts to urban destination properties, guests can enjoy access to outstanding four star, upper upscale hotels with an indie spirit while benefitting from the award-winning Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program. 

Luxury.  Indie.  Boutique...this is a big part of the Palm Springs renaissance.  I think this could really benefit Palm Springs as it is another hotel that is a member of an enormous hotel company that can offer its loyal customers a stay in another resort destination.   

Startwood or not, its still no Dry Heat Resorts... 

 

MOD Palm Springs (October 8 - 11)

Caliente Tropics Resort, Palm Springs

I've always been drawn to Polynesian culture, especially the Americanized version of it that was so popular after WWII.  Growing up in Southern California in the 70's and 80's, I have fond memories of 1950's and 1960's apartment buildings that had banana palms, palm trees, tiki heads and elements of Polynesian architecture.  I remember polynesian-themed restaurants with tropical decor, carved wooden statues, and waiters or waitresses in grass skirts serving flaming cocktails and Americanized Chinese food served up on pu pu platters.


Well, it turns out that this really isn't true Polynesian culture.  It is Tiki.  Tiki is a sub-culture of the Modernist era (1930s through the 70s) which really exploded in popularity with the return of many GI's who'd experienced Polynesian culture for the first time while fighting WWII in the Pacific theater, and fueled by popular novels and movies like South Pacific. 

As all Palm Springs visitors know, Palm Springs is a mecca for Modernist architecture and has more mid-century modern homes than probably any other city in the country.  Part of our city's modern heritage happens to include Tiki.  The MOD Palm Springs event celebrates Palm Springs' Mid-Century Modern Tiki heritage with a passion. 

This year's event takes place at the historic Caliente Tropics Resort which is located at 411 E. Palm Canyon Drive.  This resort really captures the whole tiki vibe.  After arriving through the hotel's iconic A-Frame entrance, you will step back in time with the event's carefully planned atomic explosion of themed musical performances, mid century and tiki shopping (from an array of creative vendors), Artworks that embrace the era and skillfully mixed tropical cocktails.  

The average temperatures for Palm Springs are in the high 70s and low to mid 80s for the fall months of October and November so it is a perfect time to visit and experience a different aspect of the city's rich history. 

The above picture was the scene yesterday at the ribbon cutting for the brand new amazing restaurant & lounge called, Eight4Nine Restaurant & Lounge.  You know its a cool and hip place when some of the numbers in the name are actual numbers and others are spelled out.  How Chic...

Sarcasm aside, the restaurant opened yesterday in the Uptown Design District, North of downtown Palm Springs, to a large and enthusiastic crowd.  I got to admit that the enthusiasm is justified.  First, let's talk about the venue. 

After walking up the stairs, you enter into their bar and lounge which is spacious, cool open and very light.  I can actually see this room being filled with people and not feeling like a sardine.  "The white, crisp interior lined with the farmhouse tables and stylish chairs creates a luxurious yet comfortable ambiance--a blank canvas that reflects Chef Chuck Courtney's colorful culinary flair".  That is actually how they describe their interior.  I'm afraid I'm not that good of a writer. They describe their bar as "an all-white backlit onyx bar with white Louis XIV ghost chairs and stools".  Sounds pretty, don't it?  And it is.  Unfortunately for me, it was lunch time, I was still on the clock and I drove there so I couldn't have a cocktail.  Having written that, the ambiance of the bar was so inviting I almost slipped and fell face first into a martini.  It would not have been my fault. 

To the left of the bar and lounge is a huge dining room area (Picture Above).  What you can't see from this picture are the numerous doors on either side of the dining room that each contain private dining rooms.  And big ones too; like have a small wedding reception in one big. 

Even though the restaurant just opened, the service was excellent.  My waitress was very pleasant, always smiling, thoughtful and attentive.  Being the boring person I am, I ordered a rather common lunch menu item, the cobb salad.  It was the prettiest cobb salad I had ever seen.  It was a shame to eat it.  Here it is now:

Pungent blue cheese, applewood bacon, perfectly hard boiled eggs, Petaluma chicken (whatever that is) and crisp fresh greens.  If you like cobb salads like I do, then you have to try the one at Eight4Nine Restaurant & Lounge.  If you aren't boring like I am, one of the more creative lunch selections might appeal to you.  A few of these creative menu items are:

Lobster Roll (I just came back from Cape Cod (a mecca for lobster rolls) and love em.
Drunken Clams or Mussels
Mesquite-Smoked Carne Asada
Gazpacho Consomme
Ratatouille Tart

The dinner menu features even more unique creations and different takes on traditional dishes. 

Eight4Nine also has a spacious outdoor patio where guests can dine overlooking Mt. San Jacinto and surrounded by sculptures. 

As a person who makes his living of what Palm Springs offers vacationers, I'm proud to have this amazing new restaurant & lounge in the city.  It is another great experience for visitors.

One more thing:  keeping in the tradition of Palm Springs mid century modern architecture, Eight4Nine is located in a 1950's building that once housed the Palm Springs post office.  The address is 849 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.

For Palm Springs visitors who like the Hard Rock Hotel's style and vibe, there is a new night club in town that you are sure to want to check out.

The club, called Bardot Night Club, opened on July 31 and touts itself as a club that "mixes French disco décor and Palm Springs chic with state-of-the-art sound and lighting installations to create a captivating nightlife space, complete with VIP booths, bottle service and DJs known for getting people out on the dance floor."

Bardot Night Club was the venue for a Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce mixer I attended on August 25, and I think it lives up to its claims.   I don't know much about present day hip night clubs, but the layout of Bardot felt trendy and cool to me.  Its entrance is right next to the front door of the Hard Rock Hotel.  Once inside, there is a long L-shaped hallway furnished with hollywood regency styled furniture and random artwork that leads to the club.  The entrance alone is a cool place to hang out. 

As the hallway ends, the club begins and to ones left is a large bar illuminated from the foot rest to where the bartender sets your drink.  Behind the bar are numerous large video screens and other dramatic lighting.  The other side of the club begins with a spacious dance floor flanked by numerous lounge booths.  The focal point of this side of the night club is the DJ area that is almost as big as the very large bar on the other side of the venue.  I guess they need a big DJ area for the famous DJ's they plan on bringing in. 

Apparently, famous DJs are one of the things Bardot Night Club is known for.  This is their second location, their first being a popular hot spot in Hollywood. 

Debuting in 2008 near the world famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine, Bardot (Hollywood) has hosted intimate appearances by Stevie Nicks, Bruno Mars, Macy Grey, Ben Folds, Cee Lo Green, Jane’s Addiction and, yes, even Prince. An eclectic mix of vintage 20’s decor and modern production, guest DJs have included Skrillex and Hot Chip as well as one time resident DJ Ryan Gosling.