Empire Polo Club
81800 Ave. 51, Indio
760-342-2762
empirepolo.com
Known the world over as the host site of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (and Stagecoach, the Rhythm Wine Brews Experience, and other major productions), Empire is first and foremost a polo facility. Sunday Polo happens January through March and Friday Night Polo in February and March — general admission is free (though parking on Sundays will run you $20 per car). You’ll find the locals tailgating ahead of the matches.Food and beverage services are available, but spectators are encouraged to bring their own picnic spread, lawn chairs, umbrellas, and dogs (on a leash).
Empire also offers polo instruction for seasoned or would-be players; private and group training sessions are offered December through March.
Head to the club’s on-site Tack Room Tavern restaurant, bar, and music venue to wind down with the polo pros over an ice-cold pint of beer.
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The Lights at Indio Golf Club is lit for nighttime play and has one of the longest par-3 scorecards in the county. It’s also one of seven area courses accredited for FootGolf.
MADISON STREET PRODUCE
47306 Madison St., Indio
760-578-0333
madisonstproduce.com
On the corner of Madison Street and Highway 111, a little open-air farm shack has been providing locals with fresh-picked produce since 2000. Behind the outpost, a field outstretches almost as far as the eye can see — this is where all the product is grown. Berries are the favorites, sold by the box, but Madison Street vends all sorts of seasonal bounty: Pumpkins, green beans, melons, artichokes, and corn are only some of the annual harvest.
Do your shopping in the morning — those in the know swoop in early, and the produce sells fast.
PHOTOGRAPH BY @BEARLEADERCHRONICLE
Madison Street Produce.
Bob Williams Nursery
48575 Madison St., Indio
760-347-6397
bobwilliamsnursery.com
You know that moment when you finally settle at home after a glorious, sun-drenched getaway only to realize it’s back to real life? There’s an easy fix to those post-vacation doldrums: Take a piece of the desert with you. Bob Williams has all sorts of prickly plants, hand-painted pottery, and garden art.
PHOTOGRAPH BY @BEARLEADERCHRONICLE
Bob Williams Nursery.
Eldorado Polo Club
50950 Madison St., Indio
760-342-2223
eldoradopoloclub.com
Hop over to Eldorado for Sunday Polo, January through March. Or learn to play yourself: The Eldorado Polo and Riding Academy caters to everyone from beginner riders to seasoned players, 8 to 80 years old.
Art in Public Places
Downtown Indio
760-347-0676
discoverindio.org
The murals in and around downtown Indio unfold like a pop-up storybook, each revealing a slice of the history of the Coachella Valley’s oldest city. Visitors enjoy a visually stunning primer on agriculture, the date industry, water, transportation, electricity, and the Cahuilla Indians and also peek into a vision for the city’s rebirth and future. The mural project started in 1996 as part of the city’s Art in Public Places program, which also includes sculpture, such as Buster Simpson’s iconic Oculus Sol, inspired by palm fronds used in constructing shelters, at the corner of Highway 111 and Jackson Street.
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Coachella Valley History Museum houses the world’s only date museum, chronicling the rise of the fruit in the local agriculture industry.
PHOTOGRAPH BY @BEARLEADERCHRONICLE
Art in Public Places.