One of my favorite shops in Palm Springs is On The Mark Fine Foods & Provisions.  The locally owned store is a one of a kind gourmet food market and deli, featuring a range of unique boutique products such as:  craft beer and wine, artisan crafted cheese, nitrate-free meats, pates, small batch oils and vinegars, and more!  I actually just ate lunch there where I had one of their unique made to order deli sandwiches.  While they don't have any indoor seating, they have these great picnic tables just outside their front door where you can enjoy your sandwich while people watching on Palm Canyon Drive.  The fact that it was sunny and 78 degrees made the entire experience that much more enjoyable. 

On The Mark is now putting on events at their downtown Palm Springs store.  In April, for example, they are having two hour long wine tasting events where attendees can sample various wines and hors d'oevres in a fun and social setting.  All of their wines are organic or biodynamic and are paired with handcrafted hors d'oeuvres from products they sell at their shop. 

EVENT SCHEDULE:

Friday, March 29 @ 5:30
Friday, April 12 @ 5:30
Friday, April 26 @ 5:30

For tickets, click here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/o/on-the-mark-fine-foods-amp-provisions-15909424831

On The Mark is located at 777 N Palm Canyon Dr. in downtown Palm Springs.  Their number is 760-832-8892.  They would also love to cater an affair for your while you are at your Palm Springs vacation rental. 

Like the native California fan palm, the Coachella Valley music scene springs from an oasis of creative spirit. It has spread far and wide from roots in midcentury crooning and desert rock to encompass a trove of musical identities, and April serves up a supreme sampling of that vast and varied sound as local talent and big names take the stages at storied venues across town. Here’s where you can check them out.

PALM CANYON ROADHOUSE

Palm Springs

This gem of a honky-tonk presents cover bands and local rockers playing original tunes sure to blow your socks off. Join the open jam session Sunday nights. (Anyone know any Blue Cheer?)

ACE HOTEL & SWIM CLUB (Pictured above)

Palm Springs

The Ace draws an eclectic array of artists year-round and packs extra heat during festival season. Enjoy live DJ sets by the pool and techno-funk in the Amigo Room, or belt out the tunes during karaoke Tuesdays.

OSCAR’S

Palm Springs

Soul, blues, and drag queens. The supper club at Oscar’s shows Palm Springs’ longest-running cabaret, the Celebrity Female Impersonation Dinner Show, every Friday and Saturday night.

To read the entire Palm Springs Life article and learn about more music venues in the Coachella Valley, click here; https://www.palmspringslife.com/live-music-palm-springs/

One of Dry Heat Resorts most popular luxury vacation homes, Villa Estrella, just had a face lift and is now even more stylish and luxurious.

The above picture showcases the newly designed living room.  Other rooms redecorated include the dining room, family room and even the powder room (Seen Below):

Local design firm, Grace Home Furnishings, got the job and delivered an authentic rustic modern touch to the popular central Palm Springs property.  To see more about Villa Estrella's new look, Click here:  Villa Estrella's New Look. 

Local Design Firm Hosts Modernism Events

The Guggenheim House (Featured Above) is one of three luxury vacation homes decorated by Grace Home Furnishings that are  available to rent through Dry Heat Resorts. 

The design firm, whose store is located in the Uptown Design District, will be hosting three events at this year's 2019 Palm Springs Modernism Week.  The mission of Modernism Week is to celebrate and foster appreciation of midcentury architecture and design, as well as contemporary thinking in these fields, by encouraging education, preservation and sustainable modern living as represented in the greater Palm Springs area.

Sunday, February 17, 1 - 4 pm: 
Exclusive Designer Home Tour at House of Grace 2019
Tour the latest design project from Michael Ostrow of Grace Home Furnishings, an extraordinary modern residence in the Skye Neighborhood of Palm Springs.  Champagne, fresh cocktails and light bites from savory to sweet will be served.  Moderated discussions will be held at 1:30 p.m and 3:30 p. m. For Tickets to this event, click here.

Sunday, February 17, 6 - 9 p.m.:
Come Fly With Me: Cocktails at House Of Grace
Enjoy an evening under the stars at the newest design project by Michael Ostrow of Grace Home Furnishings, an extraordinary modern residence in the Skye Neighborhood of Palm Springs.  For tickets to this event, click here.

Saturday, February 23, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Inside Look at the Inwood Room at Sunnlands
Join designer Michael Ostrow and Anne Rowe, Sunnylands' Director of Collections and Exhibitions, for a look inside the process of adapting the Inwood Room to meet the needs of Sunnlands Retreat withing the framework of the stewardship of managing a historic home.  See before and after photos and learn about the challenges of preserving the history of Sunnlands while adapting to the current needs of this legendary property.  The presentation will be followed by a Q & A session.  Coffee and snacks will be served.  For tickets to this event, click here.

PALM SPRINGS, CA – January 3, 2019 - SunLine Transit Agency will bring the Palm Springs BUZZ bus back into service on Thursday, January 10, 2019. The BUZZ will provide free rides in Palm Springs every 20 minutes from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.www.sunline.org/buzzisback

"The entire team at SunLine is looking forward to bringing the BUZZ back," said Lauren Skiver, CEO/General Manager of SunLine Transit Agency. "What’s especially exciting about SunLine operating the BUZZ service is that it will align with SunLine’s fixed route service – providing valley-wide transit options."

A ribbon cutting and brief program will take place with the launch 12:00 pm at Museum Way and S. Palm Canyon. Hosted by the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, City of Palm Springs and the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism City, regional officials will ride the BUZZ following the ribbon cutting. Media is invited to attend.

"The City of Palm Springs is delighted to partner with SunLine Transit Agency to return the very popular BUZZ trolley as a transit option for our residents and visitors," said Councilmember Lisa Middleton, the City’s representative to the SunLine Board of Directors. "We are deeply appreciative of General Manager Lauren Skiver and her SunLine team’s creativity and investment in Palm Springs and public transportation."

New Downtown Palm Springs Boutique

Thick As Thieves

Inspired by their lifelong love of antiques and relics of times long gone, the owners of Thick As Thieves wanted to open up their very own shop - carrying unique, handmade items that told a story. They renovated a 1920’s Spanish bungalow closer to (what they believed to be) its original condition. From there, they added a lot of rustic elements including reclaimed wood and black iron shelving to give it a masculine feel. Altogether they strove for an Americana/Folk aesthetic and that comes from a blend of the products they carry and the physical space itself, nodding their hat to the early settlers and mercantiles of the west. All of the display pieces are antique as well - the main table is a Hungarian work bench from the 20’s, they also have a biergarten table set from Munich, an old barber’s coat rack, victorian clothing rack, enamel baby tub from the turn of the century, all to create a unique shopping experience;

In the space and in Palm Springs, the owners believe they've been able to create something uniquely special. In their minds, the products are conversation pieces, items you use to entertain and share with your loved ones and hold on to for years to come. The owners truly believe that the pioneer spirit that led people to Palm Springs all those years ago is alive and well. They hope to give people a little piece of that every time people shop at their boutique.  Thick As Thieves is located at 183 S Indian Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs.  

An historic architectural treasure is now a new attraction in Palm Springs. An exact scale replica of the 1952 Walker Beach House by modernist architect Paul Rudolph is installed in Palm Springs.

Through the innovative thinking of local architectural preservationists and a partnership with several sponsors, the replica of Rudolph’s Walker Beach House will be on view for public tours beginning October 2018 through March 2020. It will be located between the Palm Springs Art Museum and The Rowan Hotel in the new downtown development on land provided by Grit Development.

Rudolph originally built the Walker Beach House for Dr. Walter Walker as a family guest house on Florida’s Sanibel Island. The 576-square-foot beach cottage is still currently used by the Walker family.

Much like Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House which will be installed in 2020 in approximately the same location, the Walker Beach House installation in Palm Springs was sparked by equal parts serendipity and perfect timing. In this case, the effort was spearheaded by the Palm Springs Modern Committee.

“The Walker Guest House was first introduced to me by board member Stephen Rose,” says Nickie McLaughlin, Palm Springs Modern Committee (ModCom) executive director. “Stephen had visited Florida and taken the annual Sarasota Architectural Foundation (SAF) tour.”  

Having met board members of SAF, Rose learned that the Walker Beach House had been carefully dismantled and placed into custom-made crates after its first exhibit at Sarasota’s Ringling Art Museum which had been on display from the fall of 2016 until April of 2017. Essentially it was in storage waiting for the next destination where it could be displayed.

“Stephen was an enthusiastic supporter of bringing the house to Palm Springs and asked me to give it some thought. This took several weeks to research as the project came with a lot of logistical hurdles and a large budget that the Palm Springs Modern Committee had not undertaken before,” McLaughlin added.

Working with Joe King, the architect who recreated the house, and Elliott Himelfarb, a board member of SAF, a loosely-formed group was created that included Rose and McLaughlin who took it to the ModCom board for their consideration. The board made the decision to support the project and a subsequent contract with the Sarasota Architectural Foundation was entered into in June 2018.

“As the project manager I came up with a plan to offset some of the costs associated with reconstruction of the house by going into the community seeking sponsors. This is the most expensive adventure that PS ModCom has embarked on and recouping funds will be possible through daily tours, fund raising events and generous sponsors.”