Okay, seriously, where did the week go? Where did the month go? It's running away – just like participants at the Palm Springs Health Run & Fitness Expo on Saturday will be. Maybe that makes you want to relax and look at some art at the Southwest Arts Festival, or maybe you think January has gone on forever and this is all a bunch of Nunsense. For me, it makes me want to drink like a champion – wait, there's a craft cocktail what this weekend?!? Thank the Stars Among Us!
Palm Springs Health Run & Fitness Expo 2018
Start out the New Year with a healthy and fitness-oriented routine! Join thousands of runners for the Palm Springs Health Run & Fitness Expo at Ruth Hardy Park on Saturday, January 27 from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Run through the incredibly scenic neighborhoods of Palm Springs for the 10K, 5K and 1K Fun Run. Over 100 health and wellness booths provide giveaways and services, fitness experts, and cooking demonstrations. Fun for the entire family! Every 5K and 10K registrant receives breakfast snacks, t-shirt, registration bag and finisher’s medal. 1K Fun Run finishers receive a finisher’s medal. *Online registration is now closed, but you can register at the event starting at 6:30am.*
Southwest Arts Festival 2018
The Southwest Arts Festival® Indio 2018 arrives this weekend, running January 25-28. Now in its 32nd year, the Southwest Arts Festival® will once again be held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Empire Polo Club, featuring natural landscape and sweeping mountain ranges, is an international destination known for its natural beauty (and for another upcoming event, the Coachella Music Festival).
Every year the Arts Festival continues to evolve and attract a high caliber of talented artists and unique artwork. This year’s festival will feature interactive art displays and live music, with pottery, glass and fine art painting. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of food and beverage options while casually walking the grounds. (You could also walk business-casually, or even formally if you want to, I suppose.)
Stars Among Us Gala 2018: Michael Jackson Live in London!
For this yearly gala, a fundraiser for Mizell’s Valley-wide Meals On Wheels and Nutrition Program, guests will arrive at the Palm Springs Air Museum to find they have been transported overseas to the world-famous London Palladium for a portrayal of a Michael Jackson performance on the Palladium stage. Michael will be depicted by the world-famous MJ LIVE! group from Las Vegas in a show that delivers the energy, excitement, spectacle, and pure joy of this legendary superstar and his music. Taylor Dayne, best known for her iconic hit “Tell it to My Heart” (and a classic Tig Notaro joke), and who performed with Jackson early in her career, will join in to help pay tribute to one of the most remarkable and gifted musicians of our time.
The evening kicks off at 5:30 pm on February 24, when guests will enjoy themed cocktails and a magnificent silent auction set in the streets of London. Then it’s off to a re-creation of the world-famous Palladium, where they will experience the immortal music of Michael Jackson.
The event honors Eisenhower Medical Center’s Aubrey Serfling & Martin Massiello with the Galaxy Award and Patti & Jack Grundhofer with the Shining Star Award. Tickets are $300 per person ($150 tax-deductible), may be purchased online or by calling (760) 323-5689 ext 108
Desert Theatre Works' Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Revue
Desert Theatre Works in Indio will present the second weekend of a two-week run for the 2006 show Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Revue, the sixth entry in the popular series by Dan Goggin. Tickets are $30.
Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Revue takes the sisters on a brand new adventure. When a parishioner volunteers to donate $10,000 to the sisters’ school if they will perform in a club in Las Vegas, Mother Superior is hesitant to accept. However, after being convinced by the other sisters that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” Reverend Mother agrees. What follows is the most feather-filled,sequin-studded, fan dancing Nunsense show ever! Performing in The Pump Room at the Mystique Motor Lodge, the sisters experience show-biz like never before. You’ll meet Sin-City Sue, find out who’s "Black and White with Her Money on Red", and try to win a new car with the “Holy Rollers Giant Slot Machine.”
Palm Springs Craft Cocktail Week Championship
In the Second Annual Palm Springs Craft Cocktail Week Championship, the valley's top bartenders battle it out poolside to be crowned the Craft Cocktail Champion! (Gay Desert Guide's own Brad Fuhr will be among the judges, because we all have to take one for the team sometimes.) Admission includes tastes of all drinks and bites of food, with discounts available for dinner after the event, held at the Purple Palm Restaurant at the Colony Palms Hotel. Tickets are $40; $45 at the door.
HAPPY HOURS OF THE WEEK
Trunks Celebrates 1st Anniversary in Cathedral City
Trunks Bar, a West Hollywood staple, expanded last year with its new location in Cathedral City, and is ready to celebrate its 1st anniversary in the desert! From 5-7pm on Friday, January 26, enjoy awesome music by DJ Rob Roberts as well as food and happy hour!
Toucans Trivia Challenge
Toucans Tiki Lounge in Palm Springs has a whole lot of fun happening this month! Along with the best 2-for-1 in the valley, they’ve got head to head trivia happening every Friday night this month! Put your knowledge against friends and frenemies for your chance to win free drinks! And the grand prize winner will win a $50 Toucans gift card! Don’t miss out! Begins at 5:30pm!
Bookmarks
Check out a few of the stories we found interesting this week.
57 Netflix Shows With Awesome LGBT Characters (Out Magazine)
Watch the First Preview of Netflix's Fabulous 'Queer Eye' Reboot (Out Magazine)
Palm Springs: Equality, Government Shutdown Take Center Stage At Women’s March (Desert Sun)
Instagram: Tips on How to Capture Modernism Week 2018 (Palm Springs Life)
Bringing the Funny for Good Causes: The Out for Laughs Comedy Series (CV Independent)