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Cabot's Museum
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Annenberg Theatre, Palm Springs Art Museum
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Street Fair
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Joshua Tree National Park
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McCallum Theatre
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Kay Gaensler
Palm Springs Air Museum
Palm Springs Air Museum, home to one of the world's largest collections of flyable WWII aircraft. In the front is a AT-&/SNJ Texan followed by a Douglas SBD Dive Bomber and a Grumman F7F Tigercat.
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Palm Springs Air Museum
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Palm Springs Art Museum
By Jeff Crider
Cultural Adventures in the Coachella Valley
California's Coachella Valley is famous for its clear, blue skies, warm winter temperatures, natural hot springs and beautiful mountain scenery. But this popular winter destination also features a wide range of activities and attractions for people who want to do more than sit by the pool.
Here’s a sampling of interesting things to see and do across the Coachella Valley:
Museums
Cabot’s Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs: Cabot Yerxa built this four-story, 5,000-square foot Hopi-inspired structure using materials from abandoned cabins that has been used to house the men who built the California aqueduct in the 1930s. One of the Coachella Valley’s more interesting inhabitants was Cabot Yerxa was an artist, builder, architect, writer and human rights activist who was concerned about the various legal, economic and cultural threats facing Native Americans. He studied at the Academie Julian art school in Paris, France and traveled widely in Europe in addition to visiting Mexico, Cuba and Alaska. Cabot began building his pueblo-style home in 1941 and continued to work on it until his death in 1965 at the age of 81. One should allow at least two hours visit Cabot’s Pueblo, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. www.cabotsmuseum.org.
Coachella Valley History Museum in Indio: One should allot at least a half day to tour this attraction, which includes several museums and historical buildings. The California Date History Museum explores the history of one of the world’s oldest crops from its Middle Eastern origins to horticulturalists who successfully transplanted date palms in the California desert. A working date garden outside the museum showcases the various types of dates that are harvested in the Coachella Valley, which supply about 95 percent of North America’s date crop. Historical buildings include the Smiley Tyler house, which was the private residence of Dr. Harry Smiley, who set up the first medical office in Indio. In addition to having a kitchen from the 1930s and 40s, the Smiley Tyler House features a Pioneer Hall with artwork from different Coachella Valley artists each month. Separate rooms that showcase water and agriculture, heritage and indigenous Cahuilla people of the Coachella Valley. Other historical buildings include a 1909 Indio Schoolhouse, which was built with the help of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In addition to having the Coachella Valley’s oldest cork tree, the gardens feature native plants to plants introduced by pioneer families as well as a Japanese Memorial Garden. www.cvhm.org
Palm Springs Air Museum: This museum at 745 Gene Autry Trail in Palm Springs houses one of the world’s largest collections of World War II combat aircraft. The museum also includes aircraft from the Korean and Vietnam Wars as well as combat photography. Flight demonstrations and visiting aircraft are also featured. www.palmspringsairmuseum.org
Palm Springs Art Museum: This 150,000 square foot museum features Native American artifacts and Western art as well as modern and contemporary art, including paintings by Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol and photographs by Ansel Adams. The museum is located at 101 Museum Drive in Palm Springs. www.psmuseum.org
National Parks
Joshua Tree National Park: This national park is a popular destination for snowbirds interested in seeing spring wildflowers, which are typically in bloom from late February through early April, depending on the frequency and duration of rainfall. The park is popular with rock climbing enthusiasts, who engage in bouldering, climbing up and over rocks without ropes, as well as vertical rock climbing using ropes. Private companies offer rock-climbing tours in the park. It’s also very popular for hiking and horseback riding, http://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/hiking.htm
Shopping
Certified Farmers Market in Old Town La Quinta: This weekly event takes place on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from October through May at 78-100 Main Street in La Quinta. www.thepalmspringsculturalcenter.org (760) 600-0758
College of the Desert Street Fair in Palm Desert: This open-air street fair features arts and crafts, clothing, refreshments and a farmer’s market. It takes place from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the COD campus at 43-500 Monterey Avenue. (760) 636-7957
Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon: This is one of the largest premium outlet shopping centers in California with major brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Gucci, Ferragamo, Versace, Prada and Ralph Lauren. 48400 Seminole Drive, Cabazon, CA (951) 849-6641 www.premiumoutlets.com
The Gardens on El Paseo in Palm Desert: This is an upscale shopping center between San Pablo and Larkspur in Palm Desert that features more than 45 upscale stores and fine restaurants, including Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Mastro’s Steakhouse and Tommy Bahama. 73-545 El Paseo, Suite 2500, Palm Desert, CA www.thegardensonelpaseo.com (760) 862-1990
Theaters
Annenberg Theatre in Palm Springs: This elegant theater, which is located in the Palm Springs Art Museum at 101 Museum Drive in Palm Springs, features concerts and broadway plays. http://www.psmuseum.org/annenberg-theater/ (760) 325-4490
McCallum Theater in Palm Desert: Widely regarded as one of America’s finest theaters, the McCallum regularly features every category of performer from the U.S. and around the world, from comedians and musicians to broadway plays. www.mccallumtheater.com or call (760) 340-2787