Birth of a Festival: Palm Springs Life

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Barrett Wissman
Birth of a Festival Palm Springs Life
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The Palm Springs Life Festival
On March 18th, 2016, a festival was born. The
Palm Springs Life Festival opened with its
inaugural concert featuring no less than the
intrepid Plácido Domingo and Renée Fleming
performing with the LA Opera Orchestra conducted
by its music director, James Conlon. The concert
was an amalgamation of operatic favorites
performed alongside Broadway tunes and popular
songs.
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Traditional Gala Program

• The concert itself was a grand success. Aside
  from the fact that two of the greatest living
  operatic voices of our time were headlining the
  evening, the program was a traditional gala
  program. What was out of the ordinary was the
  choice of venue, the Show. The Show is the
  resident concert venue at the Agua Caliente
  Casino Resort in Rancho Mirage. In fact, it was
  the first operatic concert at the casino owned
  and operated by the Agua Caliente Indian tribe.
• The Coachella Valley is in the midst of a
  renaissance. It is now home to several iconic
  events including the Coachella Music Festival,
  the Palm Springs Film Festival and Modernism
  Week., Canada and points beyond.

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Nina Kotova Jean-Yves Thibaudet
The Festival also offered a myriad of activities
including concerts in the park performed by such
preeminent artists as violinists Midori and Sarah
Chang, cellist Nina Kotova, pianist Jean Yves
Thibaudet, and guitarist Angel Romero.
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Palm Desert Food Wine
There was a rich program of food and wine events
at the Festival including Palm Desert Food and
Wine and In Vino Veritas, which brought vintners,
chefs, and culinary exhibitors to the Coachella
Valley from all over the globe. In Vino Veritas
featured the best of Italy including its foremost
wineries and winemakers, who came all the way
from Italy to the Coachella Valley to share their
craft.
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Fashion Week EI Paseo
The Palm Springs Life Festival also featured
Fashion Week El Paseo, the most extensive fashion
week on the West Coast with multiple fashion
shows featuring the best of both developing and
well-established designers. Fashion Week included
shows from Monique Lhuillier, Zandra Rhodes, the
stars of Project Runway, Marc Bouwer, Michael
Costello and many others. Fashion Week El Paseo
took place in a stunningly-constructed series of
elegant tented structures in the El Paseo
district of Palm Desert.
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Monique Lhuillier Show
In its entirety, the Festival was a month-long
extravaganza of art, music, culinary and fashion
events. Bringing all of this together was a bold
enterprise and a challenging task. Only time will
tell if it will all come together and face the
test of time as one successful multi-discipline
lifestyle event. The odds are good, as it
certainly got off to an auspicious start.
In its entirety, the Festival was a month-long
extravaganza of art, music, culinary and fashion
events. Bringing all of this together was a bold
enterprise and a challenging task. Only time will
tell if it will all come together and face the
test of time as one successful multi-discipline
lifestyle event. The odds are good, as it
certainly got off to an auspicious start.
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In its entirety, the Festival was a month-long
extravaganza of art, music, culinary and fashion
events. Bringing all of this together was a bold
enterprise and a challenging task. Only time will
tell if it will all come together and face the
test of time as one successful multi-discipline
lifestyle event. The odds are good, as it
certainly got off to an auspicious start.