November 2011 Hot Picks

Maximize Your Desert Experience

Site Staff El Paseo, Shopping

(Right) The Suzanne Somers Tree, (Left) The Frank Sinatra Tree
Christmas tree photos by Sherri Breyer

Christmas Tree Lane
Featuring stunning creations by top designers, has been a desert holiday favorite since 2000. The annual extravaganza benefits ACT for MS, an organization that provides free services for those in the Coachella Valley afflicted with multiple sclerosis. This year, a partnership between ACT for MS and The Gardens on El Paseo and El Paseo Village provides specific opportunities to purchase Christmas trees, most of which are designed with a celebrity in mind.

Enhance your shopping experience from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7, when select stores at The Gardens on El Paseo and El Paseo Village in Palm Desert display the trees with silent auction bid sheets. High bidders will be announced on Dec. 8 and the trees delivered at that time. Or you can choose your tree early during a launch party on Nov. 26 at The Gardens on El Paseo lawn. Hosted by Jack Jones, the event features 10 trees to be auctioned off live from
5 to 8 p.m. Admission to the special reception is $20 and includes refreshments by Pacifica and Sullivan’s at The Gardens and entertainment from Bill Marx at the keyboard.
 
Participating store sponsors and tree hosts include Tiffany & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, she she kids, Bebe’s, BB•one, Talbots, Brooks Bros., and Between The Sheets. All stores will be open during the launch party and bid sheets available.

Created by the late Merv Griffin, Christmas Tree Lane enjoys a celebrated past. Among celebrities who have participated or had trees in the auction are Barry Manilow, Suzanne Somers (who hosted the first Christmas Tree Lane party with Griffin), Paris Hilton, Connie Stevens, Andy Williams, Carol Channing, Ruta Lee, Mary Hart, Jack Jones, Jerry Vale, Keely Smith, songwriter Carol Connors, authors Sidney Sheldon and Andrew Neiderman, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Congresswoman Mary Bono, and. For more information, visit www.actforms.org or call ACT for MS at 1-760-73-9806.

Keep Wondering
Take a drive up Highway 62 and catch Deborah Martin’s latest exhibition Wonder Valley at Red Arrow Gallery. Experience how Martin’s luminous and provocative style of realism contemplates the vestiges of American life. Exhibition runs through Nov. 6. The Red Arrow Gallery is located at 61597 Twentynine Palms Highway in Joshua Tree. Visit www.deborahmartinfineart.com for more information about Deborah Martin.

Civil Ceremony
Celebrate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War at Lake Cahuilla Park Nov. 19-20. Experience the life of 19th-century soldiers and witness staged battles featuring muskets and cannons. Visit with the soldiers and wander through their encampments. Admission is free. Guests will be able to purchase souvenirs at the sutler’s tent and learn about the medical practices of the period with a stop at the hospital. For more information,
visit www.la-quinta.org or call  La Quinta Museum at 1-760-777-7170.