Are you planning to visit Palm Springs this February for Modernism Week? All of us at The Paul Kaplan Group have already purchased our tickets.  Although many of the events and tours are sold out, I looked and there are still a variety of tickets available.

What is Modernism Week?  Palm Springs Modernism Week is an exciting 11-day celebration of mid-century modern design, architecture and culture, Feb. 14 to the 24th. This design aesthetic originated in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, and was typified by clean, simple lines which came to define desert modernism. The Palm Springs Modernism Week is filled with a variety of events including architectural tours, films, lectures, an architectural symposium, educational events, and chic, fun parties in cool mid-century modern homes that draws thousands of visitors from all over the world.

The Paul Kaplan Group is sponsoring a number of events and tours, as well as our Modernism Garage Sale on Feb.  24th.  I’ve scanned through the event lists, and of what is still available, here’s what I would suggest:

13th Annual Modernism Show Preview Reception, and show the following days.
Marrakesh Country Club Designer Showcase
Expo Tent and Prefab Showcase
Charles Phoenix Retro Slide Show
The Silver Factory Party
A. Quincy Jones: Building for Better Living
Royal Hawaiian Estates Home Tour
Fashion Forward: A Vintage Clothing Retrospective
Palm Springs Modern Committee Iconic Home tour – William Krisel Twin Palms
Tony Duquette – Wild Child of Hollywood Design
Mid-Century Moderns: The Homes That Define Palm Springs – 2012
Vintage Car Show
A Mad Men Evening – the Architecture and Design Council’s Annual Fundraiser
Frank Sinatra’s “Twin Palms” Estate Tour
Symposium and Tour: The Public and the Modern House – All Day
Modernism Garage Sale

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Palm Springs Modernism Week,

CLICK HERE.   

The Paul Kaplan Group will also have a booth at the Modernism Show, held Feb. 15-17th.  If you’d like more information on real estate, drop me an email or text, or come by our booth for more info.  You can live out your own modernism life in Palm Springs!

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  Curtis Anderson Firecliff. El Paseo
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  George Zander Rincon Nortendo; Indio
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  Donna Chaban-Delmas The Cliff House.
  The Daily Grill.
  Don Diego’s.
  Pacifica.
  Ask Janet Newcomb; she knows all the great venues.
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  Christine Crawford Felix El Gallito – Cathedral City

  2 hours ago · Like · 1
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  Roger Freedman La Tablita, Cathedral City.
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  Gerry Wendel Ditto Roger’s pic… La Tablita rocks!
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  Liz Malinka just ate at Guillermos the other night, it was outstanding! Most of the other places just season for seniors IMHO
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  Chris Miller The Venue for sushi on El Paseo, Rincon Norteno for Mexican and Cirros for Pizza in Indio
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  Liz Malinka and don’t forget Armando’s Dakota Bar Grill for cadillacs

  (more…)

Its Biker Weekend in Palm Springs, but why not ride your hog up to the Palm Springs high desert for the 2012 Hwy 62 Art Tours?

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ART TOURS

Conceived in 2001 as a festival for all the arts, with 24 participating artists, the Hwy 62 Art Tours now features close to 200, including those working in music, literary, performance and visual arts.

For the tenth anniversary, Art Tours organizers have put together an ambitious program to showcase a variety of the arts in the Morongo Basin.

“Open Studios” are still the main feature. A steadily growing number of artists open their homes and studios to an ever-expanding public. Each reflects the unlikely growth of the arts in this remote Palm Springs high desert community.

Along with the growing Art Tours, this past decade has seen the rise of a thriving arts community, where cultural events occur year-round. Hwy 62 Art Tours is the premiere arts event of the year in this unique place, when the local community welcomes the world to have a look.

For more information visit:  http://www.hwy62arttours.com/

The Paul Kaplan Group, Inc. is in the planning stages of opening a satelite Real Estate office in the high desert (Pioneer Town).  While touring art, if you fall in love with the beauty of the high desert and see yourself wanting a home there, please give us a call!  We’re excited to introduce our clients to this unique Southern California environment!  760-285-8559.

Last night’s non-event re: the infamous Palm Springs wall of water offers the perfect case for all of us to be signed up for Nixle alerts. What are they? They are city-wide alerts to situations affecting most or all citizens. By registering your email and cell phone–you will get these alerts from Palm Springs Police and Fire Department,  as both email and text messages as they are sent by Police dispatch. 

 For those of you out of town, especially, it allows you to NOT have to depend on the untimely  local media to know about significant events in town. Here’s the sign up site: http://local.nixle.com/city/ca/palm-springs/

Sign up, its free!  And stay informed about any important alerts going on in Palm Springs

There’s always something exciting going on in Palm Springs…. 

Do you love film?  Check out the 18th annual Short Fest in Palm Springs, America’s largest and best festival featuring award-winning films, tributes, nightly receptions and more-  The week long celebration features the best new short films from around the world, featuring over 320 new films.

When:  June 19-25, 2012

Where:  Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs

More info and tickets at 760-778-8979

www.PSFilmFest.org

The Paul Kaplan Group are proud sponsors of the Palm Springs Modernism Week.  The 2012 Palm Springs annual Modernism Week celebration, was recently held in February-  Reports are  out, and   officials estimate the 11-day event generated $10.9 million, up from $7.7 million the previous year.

The seventh annual event also saw a 40 percent increase in attendance, with 35,400 people attending from more than 39 states.  Additionally, officials said 86 percent of participants were from outside of the Coachella Valley. 

We talked to people from all over the US as well as other countries, excited and passionate about mid-century modern architecture, and what Palm Springs has to offer.  This year’s event drew visitors from Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, per officials.

 Some 300 volunteers helped put on more than 90 events, from home tours, films and lectures to fashion shows and receptions.  As an annual sponser of the event, we had record attendance at the Modernism Show booth we hosted as well as our open houses. 

For more info, check out www.mydesert.com/modernism and www.Modernismweek.com

And if you’d like to own a piece of Palm Springs Modernism for yourself, we’d be happy to assist you!  Check out our website at www.PaulKaplanGroup.com

Mid-century Modern Fans:  Here’s a new event being offered this year at the annual Palm Springs Modernism Week celebration, coming up in February:

The Marriage of Commerce and Creativity:
Modernism in Banking
Palm Springs Historical Society Walking Tour

February 16.

This walking tour departs at 10 a.m. from the Union Bank Palm Springs at 500 S. Indian Canyon Drive Palm Springs, and lasts approximately 1 hour. Covers the area south of Baristo Rd bordered by Indian Canyon Drive and S. Palm Canyon Drive and examines the history of the development and design of the area, including banks designed by E. Stewart Williams and Gruen & Associates.

Enjoy refreshments provided by Espresso Cielo and free admission to the McCallum Adobe and Cornelia White House.

For tickets, go to www.ModernismWeek.com

The Paul Kaplan Group is happy to announce another epicurean event in Palm Springs-  this one sounds fun and great to see some creative minds at work bring innovative events to Palm Springs.

Circle the date and bring your appetite! Over 40 of Southern California’s most unique and skilled chefs will be setting up in the parking area of the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs this coming February 4th.

PBS TV Host and “Minister of Culinary Awareness” Cliff Young (of the “Out To Eat” show) is organizing the inaugural “Palm Springs Food Truck Festival” at the Spa Resort Casino in Downtown Palm Springs. It all happens on Saturday, February 4th.

Cliff says, “This is not your typical food truck festival, this event will offer cutting-edge culinary flavors from chefs who want to take your palette on a journey you won’t soon forget. We are creating an unbelievable festival of haute cuisine you don’t want to miss.”

For more info on the Palm Springs Food Truck Festival, click the attached link:

http://www.palmspringsfoodtruckfestival.com/

One of my favorite Palm Springs’ galleries, Stephen Archdeacon Gallery, is presenting a collection of photos featuring images from the Hollywood studio archives.  A great celebration that conincides with the Palm Springs International Film Festival.  Here’s the info:

Coinciding with the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Stephen Archdeacon Gallery will present a selection of limited edition, archival photography from the 1950′s through the 1970′s of Hollywood Cinema. A selection of images from curator and archivist Howard Askenase will be featured, including: a Warner Brothers Studio still of James Dean from ‘REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE’ and a 20th Century Fox Studio still of Marilyn Monroe from ‘GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES’, along with an image portrait of Clint Eastwood from ‘HANG ‘EM HIGH’, a beefcake shot of Steve McQueen, and a busty Elizabeth Taylor together with costar Marlon Brando from ‘REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE’ among many others.

Terry Hastings is a Palm Springs artist who will be unveiling a portraiture series of RuPaul’s Drag Race Winner: Bebe Zahara Benet that are based on classic Hollywood starlets.

Documenting the trip between Hollywood and Palm Springs, Eric Nash will have new drawings on view. Collected by contemporary Hollywood players, Nash can be found in the homes of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Jerry and Linda Bruckheimer, Orlando Bloom, Hillary Duff, Mena Suvari, and entertainment attorney Jacob Bloom in addition to many others.

A portion of the proceeds from silent auction items at this evening event will go to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Riverside County which provides thousands of advocates to children who have been removed from their families because of abuse and neglect. CASA of Riverside County has been a pioneer in developing programming catered to LGBTQ foster youth. http://www.casariversidecounty.org/

Saturday, January 7, 6-9pm 

Please register for this event Click Here     

Stephen Archdeacon Gallery      

760-673-7520      

865 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262   

After selling Real Estate for over a decade now in Palm Springs, every once in a while I’m delighted to see new funky never-before-seen listings like this….  As most know, Palm Springs is known for the Rat Pack night club era, and its plethora of mid-century and modern architecture, but the rare treats are properties such as this gem, known as the “Versailles of the Desert.”  Located in the posh Movie Colony neighborhood near downtown Palm Springs, this crazy kitschy home was just listed for $1,100,000

Here’s the agent description:

“An authentic Rat Pack home featured in Palm Springs Life magazine as the Versailles in the Desert. This is one of the largest homes on one of the choicest corner lots in the Movie Colony. First time on the market in 35 years, this property now needs a major upgrade to bring it to its new heights of excellence. The main house features 3 bedrooms, a huge walk in closet, 3 baths, large living room and salon, screening/TV room, formal dining room, sitting room with bar, small chapel, dinette overlooking the pool and kitchen. Additional structures (some unpermitted) include a carport; guest house consisting of a foyer, living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen; a large enclosed gazebo; and a storage shed. Magnificent mountain views surround this enchanted property with its pool/spa, covered patio, rose garden, fountain, and a multitude of palms, fruit trees and other plants.”

The homes four bedrooms, and some over the top baths, as you can see from the pics.    Over 4,000 Square feet on a lot that’s over 17,000 SF.

Check out the mini-Hearst Castle inspired pool  Do you love it?

All this can be yours.  Are you glamorous enough to own this?  (I can’t wait for the Broker’s Open house myself!)  Oh, and did you see it has its own Chapel here too??  Wonder what other stories those walls can tell…

For more info, call me at 760-459-1396.

or visit my site www.MidCenturyModernPS.com

Listing is courtesy of the Desert Area MLS, listed by Tarbell.