LIVE Magazine Issue #267 February 8, 2018

Modernism Week’s signature February festival
will take place February 15-25, 2018, highlighting
midcentury modern architecture, art, interior
and landscape design, and vintage culture in the
Palm Springs area of Southern California. For the
thirteenth year, the annual 11-day festival will
feature a wide array of events including the Palm
Springs Modernism Show & Sale, tours of iconic
homes in more than 23 neighborhoods (including
the Signature Home Tour on both weekends),
architectural walking, biking and double-decker
bus tours, tours of the historic Annenberg Estate at
Sunnylands, classic cars, garden tours, a vintage
travel trailer exhibition, nightly parties and a
special series of talks about Frank Lloyd Wright,
Preservation, and Legendary Women of Design.
All events are open to the public and tickets go
on sale November 1, 2017 at 12 p.m. PST at
modernismweek.com. Attendees will be able to
preview the events on the website without making
purchases starting October 25. A portion of ticket
proceeds benefit Modernism Week (a non-profit
organization) and other local preservation, neighborhood
and community groups. As additional
events are finalized they will be added for sale on
the website on the first of each month.
“Modernism Week continues to expand the scope
and reach of our events and programming,” said
William Kopelk, Modernism Week Board Chairman.
“This year, we will continue that trend by
offering new events and educational opportunities
while still featuring the beloved favorites that our
audience anticipates. We will offer a compelling
combination of educational talks and film screenings,
exciting tours, and activities throughout the
Coachella Valley and beyond. Our returning
Modernism Week attendees will be thrilled with
the selection of appealing new programs.”
Signature Events
One of the highlights of the first weekend includes
the annual Modernism Week Opening Night
Party on Thursday, February 15, presented by
Ferguson Kitchen, Bath & Lighting Gallery. This
chic red carpet affair will be teeming with vintage
style and authentic swagger as attendees channel
their inner Marilyn, Sammy or Hefner, for a
night of entertainment, high style and glamour.
The popular event will take place at the 1962
Indian Canyons Golf Resort, designed by Donald
Wexler and Richard Harrison. The Canyon
Country Club, as it was originally known, has a
legendary history as a favorite spot of Hollywood
icons including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Johnny
Carson, Walt Disney and Dean Martin. For the
Opening Party, the club will recall the famous
“After Dark” television series and be transformed
into a swinging club reminiscent of fabulous cocktail
parties from the 1960s. This spectacular evening will
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.
be over the top with expansive indoor and outdoor
lounges, abundant and decadent hors d’oeuvres
provided by Lulu California Bistro, and an open bar
that offers specialty Rat Pack-era cocktails featuring
Hendrick’s Gin. Attendees will dance the night
away to the tunes of retro performer DJ Baz and
a swinging show by The Dreamboats, an upbeat
retro Rock & Roll group, back by popular demand,
courtesy of Corian Design.
New Events
Fans of midcentury-era Hollywood films will enjoy
Hollywood Revisited, a stunning musical revue that
showcases a dazzling lineup of costumes worn
by the stars in original Hollywood films. Set to
the music that defined the times and presented by
top notch Broadway and Hollywood performers,
Hollywood Revisited lets the audience experience
historic costume designs of Hollywood’s Golden
Age.
Participants of the Modernism Week Signature
Home Tour will be able to either drive themselves
on the tour route or upgrade to a new VIP chauffeur
experience in which up to three participants
will be able to ride in a style in Alfa Romeo Stelvio
SUVs and finish the tour with an exclusive private
reception.
The mis
of midcentury a
by encouraging education, prese
Modernism Week’s cool,
iconic, modern February
festival is an exciting 11-day
celebration of midcentury
modern design, architecture,
art, fashion and culture.
Preservation of historic buildings has always been
Modernism Week one P.O. of Box the 5001 fundamental Palm pillars Springs, for CA Modernism 92263 Week. modernismweek.com Events include the Modernism
from attendee Show surveys & Sale, and ticket tours sales records.
Preservation will be celebrated this year with tours of
Modernism Week is a California 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Photography the Walter by S. Mark White-designed Cieslikowski, Jake “Wave” Holt and house David A. in Lee. Palm Results tabulated
Desert, which will feature a compelling presentation
about the house and its significance, followed by a
tour of the structure.
Midcentury modern places of worship will be
highlighted in two new tours this year. The first
tour, “Sacred Places - Modern Church Tour,” will
feature more than seven houses of worship and
emphasize how the architecture of the structure
was designed to augment the purpose of the
building. Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs will also be
featured in a separate tour entitled
“Architecture in Service of the Sacred and Spiritual”
that contrasts the historic E. Stewart Williams
structure with the 1980’s west-facing addition
designed by David Christian.
For the last few years, Modernism Week has offered
attendees the opportunity to join home tours and architectural
excursions outside of the immediate Palm
Springs area. This successful expansion continues in
2018 with home tours planned in surrounding desert
cities including Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and
Indian Wells.
Donald Wexler’s classic 1964 Dinah Shore estate
will be open to the public for a special Modernism
Week event called A Night at the Dinah
Shore Estate on Saturday, February 17. The
party, a fundraiser for Save Iconic Architecture,
will feature cocktails and the ability to
explore this architectural gem. Save Iconic
Architecture works to prevent the demise of
unique and relevant properties in southern
California.
The 2018 Modernism Week schedule features
the exciting Ridge Mountain Residence:
Exclusive Premier Tour and Reception on
February 19. Event attendees will be the first
to experience the first
Modernism Week • modernismweek.com
photos: Jake Holt
of iconic homes,architectural
walking, biking and
double-decker bus tours, a
world-class lecture & film
series, tours of the historic
Annenberg Estate at Sunnylands,
a Palm Springs Walk
of Stars dedication, classic
cars, garden tours, a vintage
travel trailer exhibition, and
much more. Tickets go on
sale at 12:00 PM PST on
Wednesday, November 1,
2017 at modernismweek.
com. Events are added frequently
and there are always
events accessible up to and
during the festival.