Modernism Week, an annual celebration of mid-century design and architecture, will begin its opening day festivities Thursday featuring tours, cocktails, live music and more.
The opening day event will kick off at 8 a.m. with a sold-out Twin Palms Guided Walking Tour featuring an insider’s perspective of the desert’s first modernist neighborhood, followed by the sold-out Premier Double Decker Architectural Bus Tour featuring an overview of Palm Springs’ most significant mid-century architectural treasures, according to event organizers.
The festivities will continue at 9 a.m. in the Hyatt Palm Springs featuring live music, refreshments, live entertainment and a free professional color consultation, before city officials and the Modernism Board of Directors host a ribbon-cutting event at 10 a.m. for the Community And Meeting Place (CAMP) — which will serve as a free and daily central hub of activity throughout the 11-day festival.
Also set to begin at 9 a.m. is a sold-out Frey House II Tour with museum day passes, and a $55 House of Tuesday Home Tour featuring the newly renovated home where Elvis and Priscilla Presley honeymooned in 1967, according to event officials.
Over a dozen tours are scheduled throughout the morning, and the evening will begin to close at 4 p.m. with a sold-out Midcentury Mixology Cocktail Clinic at Mr. Lyons, where attendees can learn to make iconic, class cocktails from the mid-century era while enjoying a welcome cocktail.
The VIP opening weekend hosted by retro pop culture humorist Charles Phoenix will also begin at 4 p.m. at Azure Sky Hotel, in which 24 modernist guests will enjoy the newly opened deluxe hotel for four nights and five days, event organizers said.
At 4:30 p.m., a free festive celebration of permanent nighttime lighting of Albert Frey’s modern sculptural masterpiece at the Palm Springs Visitor Center will be held.
Two free events will begin at 5 p.m. — one at CAMP featuring DJ Daizy Van Tassel Vinyl Disco Set and one at The Penney Spirits Library in Rancho Mirage featuring a mid-century modern séance on Desert Island — before the night ends with the festival’s opening night party at Studio 74 in Palm Springs featuring a 70’s disco nightclub atmosphere.
Tickets and more information about Modernism Week is available at ModernismWeek.com. Event organizers will host more tours and similar events through Feb. 26.