Things to Do This Week, Feb. 10-17

GROOVE: Mozart Group / Feb. 11

Only the string skills are serious at this show at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert. Poland-based quartet the MozART Group plays classical tunes with a comedic edge (think: playful props and sound effects Wolfgang Amadeus probably never intended). mccallumtheatre.com

GROOVE: Renée Fleming / Feb. 12

Julliard-educated opera star Renée Fleming stands among musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, and Beyoncé as one of the artists to perform the national anthem at the Super Bowl (in fact, she’s the only classical singer ever to do so). Hear her soaring soprano at the McCallum Theatre. mccallumtheatre.com

GO: Bruce Fessier, Desert Journalist / FEB. 12

Bruce Fessier reflects on his award-winning career spanning 40-years as a writer and editor for The Desert Sun. He bridges the view from the Rat Pack Era of the 1950s and '60s when Palm Springs was a place where movie stars went to get away, with the current era of Palm Springs as a world class resort with international film and music festivals where celebrities now come to work. pshistoricalsociety.org

Bruce Fessier

GO: Art Palm Springs/ FEB, 13-17

Art Palms Springs returns to the Palm Springs Convention Center for its ninth edition with an opening night preview on Feb. 13, and runs through Feb. 17. Art collector Jordan Schnitzer is being honored as 2020 Patron of the Year, while the 2020 Icon Award is going to Los Angeles-based painter, sculptor Chuck Arnoldi. art-palmsprings.com

GO: Cirque Éloize / Feb. 13

This contemporary dance and circus company uses music and movement in addition to narration to draw McCallum Theatre audiences into a colorful love story set at an elegant hotel full of intriguing travelers and staff. mccallumtheatre.com

GO: Modernism Week / Feb. 13–23

Every February, design buffs flock to the desert for a valley-wide celebration (think: tours, lectures, parties, and more) of all things midcentury modern.

One of the week’s most exciting events launches it: an out-of-this-world kickoff party playfully dubbed Space Modyssey. “We’re going to transform 20,000 square feet of space into an incredible environment that is intergalactic in nature,” says party planner Frank Goldstin. The theme was inspired by the affair’s location at the Palm Springs Air Museum, and the night’s entertainment — a David Bowie tribute extravaganza called Space Oddity — powers up the same retro-futurist aesthetic.

David Brighton, who plays Bowie, views Palm Springs as the perfect place to, well, space out. “Something about UFOs and the desert [seems] tied together,” he says. “And since it’s an artistic community, we will really be able to delve into [Bowie’s] artistry.”

• READ NEXT: David Brighton Reveals How He Cha-Cha-Changed Into David Bowie.

Golstin encourages attendees to dress a little starry themselves. “It’s an incredible, immersive experience,” he says. “You’ll find that many people come attired towards the theme. It brings a great deal of excitement to the evening — [which is] designed to surprise and delight you at every step.” modernismweek.com

GO: Circus Vargas / Feb. 13-23

Run away with the circus, for two unforgettable hours of nonstop action, thrills, excitement and adventure. Circus Vargas presents their new 2020 production “Mr. V’s Big Top Dream!”, a tribute to the man himself, the late Mr. Vargas. circusvargas.com

GO: The Cree House Tours / Feb. 13-23

Other than his own home, this is Albert Frey’s most intact residential work. It was commissioned by a prominent desert family at a time when little if anything had been built nearby. Since the early 1970s, it has been owned by a single family and thus, has quietly existed on its hilltop perch overlooking the desert floor, largely forgotten and rarely seen by the public. modernismweek.com

PHOTOGRAPH BY LANCER GERBER

The Cree House, architect Albert Frey's most intact residential work.