Veteran character actor and Palm Springs “weekender” resident Jasper Cole appears alongside Will Forte, Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillipe, and Kristin Wiig in the hard-R comedy-action film MacGruber, opening on May 21.

Defiant in claiming his view of the world in expressive color and composition, Birger Sandzén (1871-1954) has often been referred to as “the American Van Gogh.” An early Modernist painter, the Swiss-born artist depicted U.S. mountain ranges in blocks of vibrant colors and undulating rhythms.

This is the magical part of the year — when warmer evenings encourage alfresco dining, yet days remain cool enough to take in the beauty left by those few weeks we call the rainy season.

Ballet dancer/instructor Valerie Mahabir used the bold artwork of actor Jack Armstrong to inspire the choreography of Cosmic Firebird Ballet, being presented March 13 in Rancho Mirage. Lights in colors from Armstrong’s works will “paint” the dancers’ white chiffon.

After 17 years crisscrossing the ocean between jobs and houses in London and Los Angeles, Lorna Luft relaxes in the warmth of the desert. Dreams come true for desert resident Lorna Luft as she pays tribute to her mother, Judy Garland, at McCallum Theatre

Form and color have long distinguished the daring and monumental sculptures of New York-based artist Dennis Oppenheim. For his new series of work, Splash Buildings, he reaches deep into his youth, when he lived in Berkeley and drove to San Francisco.

A decades-long collector of postcards, photographs, and brochures, Peter Moruzzi began picking up those dealing with the Coachella Valley as soon as he moved here in 1998. At this month’s Modernism Show (Feb. 13-14), he will sign his recently published Palm Springs Holiday,

Artistic Recycling, Valettes, and Sommeliers