As you warm up for the holiday season, we offer our thoughtful itineraries for lovers of visual art, architecture and design, music and stage in the Coachella Valley region. A fourth, “arts concierge,” itinerary adds the best of film, dance, heritage, and spoken word.

“Curated each month for residents and visitors, our itineraries offer in-the-know recommendations and even a few bold dares (wait ’til you see this month’s production of Venus in Fur at CV Rep),” says Christi Salamone, CEO of the nonprofit California Desert Arts Council. “Our goal is to help culture lovers find some of the best offerings in our big, diverse arts and culture community.”

In lockstep with its mission to unify, empower, and promote the arts, CDAC shares the itineraries on its website, in social media, and via a free e-newsletter. CDAC’s partner, the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, also promotes the itineraries to visitors via digital media and destination travel media.

Here are November’s highlights:

 

ART & DESIGN

Conservator Mark Leonard restores Thunder Mountain at Palm Springs Art Museum.

• THUNDER MOUNTAIN: Watch conservator Mark Leonard restore William R. Leigh’s century-year-old panoramic landscape painting, Thunder Mountain, from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursdays (Q&A from 4:30 to 5 p.m.) and 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. Fridays through Mondays in the Denney Wing at Palm Springs Art Museum.

• WALK FOR ART: Hit the galleries during Art Walk El Paseo (Nov. 3), which includes Coda Gallery’s new artist group show, a solo show of works by mixed media artist Nancy Stanchfield at Ramey Fine Art, and a group exhibition of gallery artists at Hohmann Fine Art. Backstreet Art District (Nov. 1) in Palm Springs features Fusion Art’s annual “Best in Show” exhibition and a preview of “Strong Words” at Maxson Art Studio and Gallery. And the Second Saturday art walk at Cathedral City’s Perez Road Art District (Nov. 11) includes shows at Colin Fisher Studios, Simeon Den Gallery, Colliding Worlds Fine Art Gallery, and a dozen other galleries and design boutiques.

• WAYS TO REMEMBER: Coachella Valley Art Center (CVAC) and Coachella Valley History Museum (CVHM) present exhibitions honoring veterans. CVHM features veterans from five past/current wars. CVAC showcases work by three artists/veterans: Michael Aschenbrenner, Wm. Marquez, and Jeffrey Stenbom. The CVAC show opens Nov. 10, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m., and continues through December.

• PACIFIC STANDARD TIME: The Getty-funded Pacific Standard Time exhibitions focusing on Latin American and Latino art in L.A continue at Palm Springs Art Museum (Kinesthesia: Latin American Kinetic Art, 1954-1969), the museum’s Architecture and Design Center (Albert Frey and Lina Bo Bardi: A Search for Living Architecture), and Sunnylands Center and Gardens (Carved Narrative: Los Hermanos Chávez Morado).

• ARTIST COUNCIL EXHIBITION: The show features works by more than 40 of the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Artists Council members, continues through Dec. 10. Jurors for this year’s show were artist Lita Albuquerque, critic David Pagel, and dealer Rick Royale.

• NO GLASS CEILING! Women Working in Glass, Part 1 continues through March 5, 2018, at Palm Springs Art Museum.

 

THEATER AND STAGE

• VENUS IN FUR: A vulgar actress auditions to play the lead in the sadomasochistic tale Venus in Fur and the line blurs between play and reality in the mysterious, funny, erotic drama through Nov. 19 at CV Rep at The Atrium in Rancho Mirage.

• THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE: Casey is young, broke, and desperate after losing his Elvis impersonation gig to a B-level drag show at a run-down, small-town Florida bar. Don’t miss The Legend of Georgia McBride, presented by Dezart Performs from Nov. 3 to 12.

• CHOREOGRAPHY FESTIVAL: Emerging and established dancemakers take center stage at McCallum Theatre’s Choreography Festival, now in its 20th year. See original dances in a number of styles performed by companies from across the nation on Nov. 11 and 12.

• FAMILY STORIES: The Desert Sun and UCR Palm Desert’s graduate program for creative writing and writing for the performing arts present the Coachella Valley Storytellers Project, an evening of live storytelling on the theme of “family” beginning at 6 p.m., Nov. 13, at Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs.

• TIMES SQUARE ANGEL: In the spirit of A Christmas Carol, the fiery and bitter Irish O’Flanagan meets an angel in the form of a sexy vaudeville magician named Albert, who reveals she’ll be killed in a botched kidnapping of a corrupt senator’s beautiful daughter. Charles Busch’s Times Square Angel runs Nov. 17 to Dec. 17 at Desert Rose Playhouse in Rancho Mirage.

• CINDERELLA: Be transported back to your childhood as you rediscover Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella Marvel at the lush productions of your favorite moments: the pumpkin, the glass slipper, and the masked ball Nov. 24-28 at McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.

 

FILM

• ANIMATION FESTIVAL: The Palm Springs International Animation Festival (Nov. 9-11) serves up a global celebration of animation with more than 250 shorts and six feature-length animated films from more than 100 countries presented at Palm Springs Art Museum’s Annenberg Theater and Richards Center for the Arts at Palm Springs High School.

• HARMONIA: Desert Film Society presents Harmonia — a contemporary, musical variation of the biblical story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac — at 10 a.m. (introduction at 9:50 a.m.) on Nov. 11 at Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs.

• CHELLAVISION: The first annual Chellavision short film fest rolls Nov. 18, from 4 to 11 p.m. at Indio Performing Arts Center.

 

FESTIVALS & HERITAGE

Indio Powwow

• CV DAYS OF LOS MUERTOS: California Desert Arts Council honors Coachella Valley notable artists for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with an altar installation at the fourth annual Coachella Valley Days of Los Muertos, Nov. 2-5, 2017, at Sunnylands Center & Gardens in Rancho Mirage. Visitors can view these altars and calaveras and can learn about Day of the Dead celebrations through music, stories, and dance.

• GREATER PALM SPRINGS PRIDE: The Pride Festival (Nov. 3-5) celebrates its 31st Anniversary with block parties, a two-day festival, and parade in Palm Springs.

• PALM SPRINGS WOMEN’S JAZZ FESTIVAL: The fifth annual festival (Nov. 3-5) presents top jazz artists in a multi-day celebration of a variety of styles including blues, straight-ahead jazz, and more.

• SYNERGY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL: The free festival (Nov. 11), presented by Culturas Music & Arts and the City of Coachella, features performances, live art, dance, and more.

• DESERT HOT SPRINGS PRIDE FESTIVAL: The event (Nov. 18), organized by DiversityDHS with Cabot’s Pueblo Museum and the City of Desert Hot Springs, features music, dancing, entertainment, and exhibitors. Free admission, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cabot’s Pueblo Museum.

• INDIO POWWOW: Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and tribes from across the United States and Canada show off their dancing and singing skills through traditional competitions at the 36th annual Indio Powwow Nov. 24-26 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. The event also features Native American food, dance and drum contests, peon games, bird singing, and arts and crafts.