Guys and Dolls – Arts Club Theatre

A Classic Broadway Musical comes to Vancouver.

It has been some while since I’ve been to an actual Broadway show, so watching this last night was almost like being back in New York. Meaning it was that good.

Daniel Curalli and Tenaj Williams in Guys & Dolls, 2024; set design by Scott Penner; costume design by Christine Reimer; lighting design by Gerald King; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

Take a leap back in time to 194o’s New York City where gambling was rampant, night club performers were raunchy and attractive but empty-headed women were referred to as “Dolls” in the hit Broadway musical “Guys and Dolls” – now playing until June 30^th at the Arts Club Stanley Alliance Stage in Vancouver. Now celebrating their diamond anniversary – shining bright for 60 years.

The last musical I saw on this stage was “Beautiful” – the Carole King Story and it was excellent. Of course I knew all the songs from having listened to “Tapestry” over and over again back in the day.

I must admit that I really enjoy a good musical with talented singers/dancers/actors, so this performance of “Guys and Dolls” hit all the right notes. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the familiarity of songs I’ve heard in the past such as “Sue Me” and “If I were a Bell.”

Yasmin D’Oshun, Madeleine Suddaby, Shannon Hanbury in Guys & Dolls, 2024; set design by Scott Penner; costume design by Christine Reimer; lighting design by Gerald King; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

Based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon, “Guys and Dolls” first premiered in 1950 with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling & Abe Burrows. Set in the bustling streets of New York City, the show follows the intertwining stories of gamblers, nightclub performers, and missionaries.

At its heart, “Guys and Dolls” is a romantic comedy, featuring colorful characters such as Nathan Detroit, a lovable but perpetually broke gambler; Miss Adelaide, his long-suffering fiancée of 14 years who is desperate to get him to the altar; Sky Masterson, a suave and high-rolling gambler; and Sarah Brown, a devout missionary trying to save souls in the midst of the city’s chaos.

Cast of Guys & Dolls, 2024; set design by Scott Penner; costume design by Christine Reimer; lighting design by Gerald King; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

The plot revolves around Nathan’s attempts to find a venue for his infamous floating craps game while simultaneously trying to avoid commitment to Adelaide. Meanwhile, Sky makes a bet that he can take Sarah on a date to Havana, Cuba, leading to unexpected romantic entanglements.

Filled with catchy tunes like “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” “Guys and Dolls” is known for its vibrant characters, witty dialogue, and toe-tapping music. It’s a delightful blend of humor, romance, and old-school charm that continues to captivate audiences with its timeless appeal.

For Tickets and information on Cast please visit: https://artsclub.com/shows/2023-2024/guys-and-dolls

Header image: Cast of Guys & Dolls, 2024; set design by Scott Penner; costume design by Christine Reimer; lighting design by Gerald King; photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company

Art & Culture

Bizet’s CARMEN

Saturday was the opening night of a sold-out performance to one of the most popular operas of all time; CARMEN.

Sarah Mesco (Carmen) & Alok Kumar (Don Jose). Emily Cooper Photography

Congratulations to Vancouver Opera for celebrating 65 years with an awesome 2024-2025 lineup.

Once again, with my friend Rosa, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver to enjoy an evening of revered arias sung in French with projected English subtitles, interesting colourful characters, spectacular costumes and set design. My first time seeing it and her third time; once at the Met in New York. Of course I’d heard about it but didn’t really know the story until now.

The good thing about going with an opera buff friend (as opposed to opera buffa or buffoon) is that they already know about the story, the composer and the arias. They can tell you which ones are “must-sees.” This was one of them. Like everything else, some are much better than others.

In the lobby of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Photo Credit: a Stranger

It was probably the most enjoyable opera I’ve seen in a long time, if even a bit too long as it has four acts with a 25 minute intermission after the second act. I can’t believe how much detail goes into the making of a production of this scale. No small feat for the choreographer (Cydney Uffindell-Phillips). The actors suited their respective roles and gave magnificent performances. With so many actors on the stage all at once in several scenes, it makes you wonder how they all manage to get it together backstage. It must be organized chaos. It’s a grand undertaking that went seemingly seamless.

Emily Cooper Photography courtesy of Vancouver Opera.

The short synopsis tells the story of a hopeless soldier, Don José, who is seduced by Carmen, a fiery gypsy woman with an appetite for smuggling. As operas tend to go it’s full of infatuation, passion, jealousy, class conflict and gender inequality. Carmen; the dominant force here uses her beauty to get what she wants. Men fall in love with her at first glance and she knows it and uses it to manoeuvre her way in and out of situations. Oh; to have that much power in beauty alone. But she’s also cunning and a little dangerous. Men be warned! Blinded by her charm, they ignore the signals.

Nathan Keoughan (Escamillo the Toreador) at finale. Photo: d. king

The Acts are too long to describe here, but I suggest if you adore opera or want to learn more, check out the link below for tickets.

If you’re new to opera and want a brief description of popular opera terms check this out:

You’re at the opera house. You open the program book or you’re listening to the opera snobs talk, and you can’t understand a word — or at least some words. To get a handle on what they all mean, here’s a chart:

aria: An emotion-expressing song in an opera; the big number.	opera buffa: Funny opera, especially from the 18th century. Think Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.”
bel canto: A style of sweet singing, taught to singers even today, that emphasizes breath control, a beautiful tone, and great flexibility in dynamics (going from loud to soft, for example).	opera seria: Formal, serious opera, especially from the 18th century.
cadenza: A moment near the end of an aria for the singer alone, with lots of fast, high, difficult notes, designed for showing off.	prima donna: The singer who plays the heroine, the main female character in an opera; or anyone who believes that the world revolves around her.
coloratura: A singer (usually soprano) with an extremely agile, light, pure-sounding voice, capable of easily singing fast, high notes.	recitative (“ress-it-uh-TEEV”): Speech-singing, in which the singer semi-chants the words, imitating the free rhythms of speech.
dynamics: The loudness or softness of a musical composition, or the markings in the sheet music that indicate volume.	Singspiel (“SING-shpeel”): A German opera with spoken dialogue (instead of recitative) between arias.
Leitmotif (“LIGHT-mo-teef”): A little melody that plays every time a certain character or object appears; invented by Richard Wagner.	trouser role: A man’s part played by a woman.
libretto: The script of an opera.	verismo: A realistic, “documentary” style of opera that depicts the seamy underbelly of life.

CARMEN: April 27 – May 5, 2024 7:30PM

Queen Elizabeth Theatre

For Tickets: https://www.vancouveropera.ca/whats-on/carmen/

Header photo: Emily Cooper Photography, courtesy of Vancouver Opera.

Opera chart taken from:

https://www.dummies.com/article/academics-the-arts/music/voice/opera-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-209080

Art & Culture

Arts Club RED VELVET

THE RIVETING TRUE STORY OF A THEATRE PIONEER

**Lindsey Angell and Quincy Armorer in Red Velvet, 2024**: set design by Amir Ofek; costume design by CS Fergusson-Vaux; lighting design by Jonathan Kim; **photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company**

The following review was written by Kelly Johnson. Thank you Kelly for your contribution.

This captivating play within a play is about the little-known but true story of a ground breaking performer.

Red Velvet is the history making story of Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to appear as Shakespeare’s Othello on the London Stage in 1833. At a time when the public and parliament were debating the abolition of slavery, he replaced a much loved white actor named Edmund Kean who apparently took ill and couldn’t fulfill his role. So in steps Aldridge, at London’s Theatre Royal no less, in the title role. Othello was originally written about a black general in a white world.

**Quincy Armorer in Red Velvet**, **2024**: set design by Amir Ofek; costume design by CS Fergusson-Vaux; lighting design by Jonathan Kim; **photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company**

The irony of ironies is that Kean’s son was part of the theatre company, and very opposed to having this replacement, mostly for racial reasons. Racism is a central theme and runs through the company in various intensities and with various excuses.

Story:

The intense play opens up later in Aldridge’s life, in Poland before he takes the stage in a different show. His room is invaded in his absence by a young, inexperienced and ambitious female reporter for a local paper, enabled by one of the hotel’s servants. For the first several minutes of the play we get to watch these two frolic around the stage speaking German, and for some reason we are not treated to a translation of what they’re saying. However, the rest of the show is done in English.

So we start late in Aldridge’s career when he is asked by the ambitious small-town and small-time reporter who has ambushed him why he never went back to Covent Garden, where he made his name as the first Black Othello. He doesn’t answer directly, but it’s clear from his cranky demeanour that it’s not a fond memory for him. Then we switch to the past and that show in Covent Garden. We go through what happens with the company of actors in it, the reaction of audiences to the show and the reaction of the critics. When that is all laid out, we return to Poland in his later life and to a very powerful scene.

The cast was excellent. Quincy Armorer, who plays Aldridge, did a wonderful job of portraying an ambitious, cocky, optimistic and determined actor getting a big break in difficult circumstances and of the bitter, angry, disappointed and in many ways. beaten older man he becomes in the play.

Lindsay Angell, who plays his leading lady in the play-within-the-play, Othello, was nuanced in her portrayal of someone caught in the prejudices of the time, but open to changing her mind and perhaps more than a little turned on by Aldridge. She also happens to be the girlfriend/fiancee of Charles Kean, who is the son of Edmund Kean, a pompous ass, racist and stuck in his prejudice and jealousy.

John Emmet Tracy plays Pierre Laporte, who is the person responsible for bringing Aldridge into the company. He did a wonderful job in his portrayal of someone experiencing the intense conflict of someone who supports Aldridge completely (except when the cumulative societal condemnation threatens the staging of the play and his reputation). Interesting tie-in at the end, by the way, with the young Polish reporter outlining the kind of sexist barriers she was facing with the paper she was working for – to the barriers faced by Aldridge , and them finding some common ground. Not necessarily acknowledged by the cranky Aldridge, but still.

**Kyla Ward and Quincy Armorer in Red Velvet, 2024**: set design by Amir Ofek; costume design by CS Fergusson-Vaux; lighting design by Jonathan Kim; **photo by Moonrider Productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company**

The cast for the play is rounded out by Tess Degenstein, who plays several roles; Anthony F. ingram, who plays two different characters; Nathan Kay, again a couple roles; and Kayla Ward, who is our only other Black person on stage, a servant to the theatre company and a mostly silent witness to and judge of the behaviour of the company.

A good dollop of comedy made for a satisfying night at the theatre. The rest of the audience loved it, too – on their feet and cheering.

The play is on until April 21, 2024 at Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.

Tickets: https://artsclub.com/shows/2023-2024/red-velvet

Art & Culture

Purple Room Revisited

THE JUDY SHOW

The 2023 – 2024 season marks the 10th Anniversary of the Purple Room reopening.

In all the years I’ve been coming to Palm Springs, this is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing “THE JUDY SHOW” – Purple Room owner Michael Holmes’ talented tribute to Judy Garland; along with guest star legends (you never know who’s going to show up – Bette Davis, Carol Channing, Talullah Bankhead, Liza Minnelli….). It’s a fun, entertaining show with Holmes (considered a true icon of Palm Springs) singing and morphing into all the different characters. Truly an experience not to be forgotten.

I’ve heard other people say how fantastic the show is, and now I can say so myself. My friend Mini and I had not only an incredible dinner and bottle of wine, but we enjoyed many laughs throughout the evening. The show is tops and we love an old-school supper club – a rare venue these days.

Once inside, the sophistication and glamour of the Rat Pack era comes alive. The club is tucked away in the unassuming Club Trinidad Hotel (named after Trini Lopez; who Frank Sinatra discovered and who used to play here). The Purple Room is where Frank, Sammy, Dean, and their pals cavorted on and off the stage in the swinging 60’s.

The room’s swanky retro vibe hosts music & comedy shows accompanied by a menu with world class cuisine and extensive wine/cocktail list.

Bartenders mix up classic concoctions with a modern twist and everyone is transported back to the elegance of a bygone era inside the intimate and inviting room. On other nights the club hosts well recognized Jazz & Broadway talent – six nights a week!

Although space is limited at Purple Room, it offers the opportunity to see major headliners up close and personal. The audience and the entertainers alike repeatedly talk about how they love the exquisite energy that is shared here.

Since variety is the spice of life, Holmes believes that having an appealing mix works best to bring people in. The room showcases a terrific variety of talent to appeal to almost everyone. From jazz greats like Grammy winner Diane Schuur to film and Broadway stars like Marilu Henner, Lucie Arnaz and comedy stars like Lady Bunny. It’s great on any given night, however, The Judy Show is comical and unique.

Happy Anniversary!

To book a show and/or dinner reservation:

https://www.purpleroompalmsprings.com

Art & Culture

Modernist Masterpiece

I had the pleasure of visiting this intriguing Donald Wexler designed house of steel with my friend Megan recently. This home has an interesting history of who designed it, who owns it and the exhibit now showing – BLAKEHAUS @ WEXLER.

Donald Allen Wexler (1926-2015) was an influential Mid-Century modern architect whose work is predominantly here in Palm Springs. He is known for having pioneered the use of steel in residential design. Some of the buildings he’s designed include the Palm Springs International Airport, Merrill Lynch Building, The Dinah Shore Residence and more.

In the desert, light is everything, and Wexler knew how to harness it.

“Light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation.” —James Turrell

Whether inside or outside, you can see why this home was used as the backdrop for countless editorial and fashion shoots; it is owned by Jim Moore, former GQ creative director-at-large.

Palm Springs Life Magazine did a story on him. This next paragraph was taken from the magazine:

Ryan Reynolds, Kanye West, Tom Cruise, President Barrack Obama, and a big posse of other well-known fellas all took heed to Jim Moore’s impeccable fashion consult over the years. By all accounts, these famous gents all came out looking pretty dashing on the cover of GQ, the titanic men’s magazine where Moore has enjoyed a fabulous tenure as creative director for four decades.

Some gossipy history: Reading about the house in Architectural Digest, it was said that Moore had heard that the house once belonged to Billy Wilder. One day, an older neighbor getting her mail told him the truth: Wilder had lived there for only six months or so, and came seldom, but she’d once seen him in the driveway talking with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The magazine went on to say “At Moore’s house, even the ghosts have pedigree.”

“I’ve never really looked at Palm Springs as being anything but stylish. There’s something glamorous about Palm Springs. It’s the little town that has the style of the big city.’” — Jim Moore

The home is now temporarily occupied by Peter Blake and his wife Stephanie. They reside in Laguna Beach and own The PETER BLAKE GALLERY; also in Laguna Beach.

All the furniture and artwork you see here is from the gallery. Moore’s own furniture was moved out for this special exhibit.

Blake’s wife Stephanie is an artist and floral designer. This is her gorgeous flower arrangement.

The gallery’s program effectively merges the disciplines of Art, Architecture and Design.

This special exhibit of artwork and furniture collection from the gallery places an emphasis on important design from the 20^th century. The curated display traverses the decades from Bauhaus to Modern – as shown in these photos.

From the Gallery Website:

FOUNDED IN 1993, THE PETER BLAKE GALLERY IS THE LEADING EXHIBITOR OF WEST COAST MINIMALISM, WITH A FOCUS ON CALIFORNIA LIGHT AND SPACE AND HARD-EDGE PAINTING. KNOWN FOR ITS RIGOROUSLY CURATED SOLO AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS, THE GALLERY HAS EXHIBITED AND PLACED IMPORTANT WORKS BY ESTABLISHED AND MID-CAREER ARTISTS INCLUDING PETER ALEXANDER, LITA ALBUQUERQUE, LARRY BELL, MARY CORSE, RON COOPER, TONY DELAP, FRED EVERSLEY, JOE GOODE, MARCIA HAFIF, JAMES HAYWARD, SCOT HEYWOOD, JOHN MCCRACKEN, JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN M. MILLER, HELEN PASHGIAN, JAMES TURRELL AND DE WAIN VALENTINE.

Photos: d. king (photos of me taken by Megan Abbott).

If you go to this page you’ll see a more in-depth video of the home under “Current Exhibitions” and the gallery at large:

https://www.peterblakegallery.com

Art & Culture

Yesterday at the House of Tomorrow

This is another home I’ve wanted to tour for years. This 1960 deemed Class 1 historic site designed by William Krisel, is where Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon. It’s also referred to as “the pleasure dome”and “the Alexander residence” – as it was the home of designer Robert Alexander, his wife Helene, and daughter Jill. They lived there from 1960 – 1965. Very sadly, both Robert and Helene passed away in a tragic plane crash. Jill went to live with her aunt in Los Angeles.

I’ve always had a thing for unique eye catching doors.

Leonard Alexander, great uncle of Jill’s, leased the house to Elvis and Priscilla Presley. They honeymooned here in 1967.

After that, the house passed multiple hands: from a reclusive wife of a rancher to another owner cited by the city for letting the pool turn into a mosquito swamp. It was then repossessed by a Boston bank in 1987. Leonard Lewis purchased the house from the bank and turned it into a sideshow.

Bringing us to the new owners who had the sensible mantra of “how would the Alexanders do it” and made some renovations like adding a private balcony, raising the kitchen to accommodate modern furnisings and a brand new ceiling in the master bedroom.

The 4,700 square foot home has four living spaces within four 12-sided polygons. The four 30-degree-angled dodecagons (In geometry, a dodecagon, or 12-gon, is any twelve-sided polygon) rest at the four points of two facing , 45-degree triangles. Inner triangles comprise hallways and rooms connecting four main spaces.

The shape of the pool mimics the roof – which creates an ascending orientation.

Doors can be drawn to close off sections of the house away from public gatherings.

Thank you Modernism for opening up this home for our self-guided tour. We’re very happy to have finally seen it.

Photos: d. king

Modernism tickets still available at:

https://modernismweek.com

Art & Culture

Modernism Week Featured Home Tour: Wexler ‘54

Here in the desert there is no shortage of gorgeous homes, but for Modernism week our focus is to celebrate and appreciate the preservation of midcentury architecture and design.

Today I got to tour the Wexler house, which interestingly enough, is a short walking distance from where I reside here in Palm Springs. While I always admired the outside of the house and wondered what lay behind the white walls, I had no idea of its importance of retaining the best of mid-century style and elegance. Now I know.

This is a Donald Allen Wexler (January 23, 1926 – June 26, 2015) designed home. Wexler was an influential Mid-Century modern architect whose work is predominantly in the Palm Springs area. He is known for having pioneered the use of steel in residential design.

H3K Home + Design worked with preservation consultant Susan Secoy Jenson (AIA – American Institute of Architects) to take this home back to its historic roots while keeping the original vision along with being able to support today’s lifestyle. No small feat.

Celebrating the home’s elongated flat roof with walls of glass, they delightfully blurred the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces, drawing the eye to the historic slump stone walls and wonderful pool area. The outside area exemplifies desert living and the mid-century modern experience.
This home is a model of thoughtful architectural preservation enlivened by the best in modern design. It received a well deserved historic designation in 2022.

Photos: d. king

Modernism is on until February 25^th. For tickets please visit:

https://modernismweek.com

Art & Culture

Modernism Madness: The Shag House

My first home tour for Modernism week 2024 was a home I wanted to visit for a long time;

which turned out to be a fully immersive experience which felt like climbing into a 3-D painting. One painted by the artist known as Shag (Josh Agle), who reimagined this mid-century modern, tiki-inspired privately owned home to fit with his original designs.

If you’ve ever visited Palm Springs, you more than likely stopped by the Shag store on Palm Canyon. It’s a must-see on the visitors list as it contains an array of well curated limited-edition merchandise, original paintings, and fine art prints that span over 30 years of Shag’s career. I feel like it was all condensed into one home.

For this home, Shag drew upon his architectural studies and the aesthetic of his artwork to reinvent this classic 1958 home.

Modernist fans will recognize the core of the house, where Shag has preserved much of the original layout including the familiar 3-bedroom, 2-bath floor plan, as well as the tongue and groove ceilings.

While the centre of the home’s layout remains the same, everything else has been updated, expanded, and transformed, for the current homeowner, Brandon McBurney; who enjoys hosting philanthropic events.

In collaboration with Brandon and John-Patrick Flynn of Brandtopia, the Shag team has created an entirely new exterior offering grand curb appeal.

The front entry has been expanded and the original breezeway has been converted into a swank party lounge. Beyond the lounge, the addition of a casita offers a quiet retreat with a unique vantage point of the pool’s and surrounding areas.

It’s amazing what people can create with a vision, a team, some cash and cachet. Bravo for a job well done!

Photos: d. king

Modernism is on from February 15-25, 2024

For Modernism Tickets:

https://modernismweek.com/

Art & Culture

Vancouver Opera’s Don Pasquale

The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is the stage for Donizetti’s madcap masterpiece set in 1960’s Rome.

A whacky story about inter-generational jealousy, deception and reconciliation This opera is bursting with vivid colour, engaging melodies, fun characters and plenty of cats.

Told in 3 acts, it’s on the lighter side of opera but not without a comedic element of cruelty. After all, what would opera be, if not deprived of a little misfortune? The amusing story and cast of characters will appeal to everyone.

The title character is Don Pasquale, a wealthy bachelor getting on in years, who has grown tired of his lazy, sole-inheretor nephew, Ernesto. Worried that his wealth will be squandered, he has chosen a bride for Ernesto. Ernesto, who is currently in love with a young widow named Norina whom Pasquale has never met, asserts that he won’t marry a woman of his uncle’s choosing.

So Pasquale determines to find himself a wife instead. A mutual friend of his & Ernesto’s named Dr. Malatesta, suggests his beautiful younger sister Sofronia, as Pasquale’s prospective bride. A thrilled Pasquale asks his friend to arrange a meeting at once. Pasquale tells Ernesto to move out of his pensione and announces his own marriage plans. Astonished, and with prospects of an inheritance slipping away, Ernesto sees his dreams evaporating. A further hurt: he learns that his confidant Malatesta has arranged Pasquale’s marriage.

Meanwhile, Norina confidently reflects on her ability to be able to charm a man. When Dr. Malatesta arrives, they decide to concoct a plan together. Norina will pose as Sofronia and marry Pasquale in a mock ceremony. Norina is keen to play the role of wife if it will result in her and Ernesto being together.

However, Ernesto is unaware of their scheme.

Don Pasquale is impatient to meet his prospective bride. When Norina (as Sofronia), the distinctly feline young lady turns up, he is instantly smitten. He decides they should get married immediately.

However; having a wife is not quite as straightforward as he expected…

Be careful what you wish for. In addition to her new shift in attitude, “Sofronia” has started living extravagantly, blowing through Pasquale’s money. Servants arrive carrying more of her purchases, and Pasquale, at wit’s end, angrily resolves to assert his rights as husband.

Can’t give it all away. The ending you’ll have to see for yourself!

February 10^th-18^th.Tickets still available for matinee and evening performances:

https://www.vancouveropera.ca/whats-on/don-pasquale

A very enjoyable opera.

Art & Culture

Sunnylands

A place of history, hospitality, and diplomacy in the California desert.

With a side of Yoga, Tai Chi and Music. We are blessed in the desert to have an abundance of natural beauty very close at hand. Located in Rancho Mirage, Sunnylands is one of the most beautiful places to spend an afternoon. Take a free Yoga or Tai Chi lesson, have lunch in the café, stroll the gardens and walk the round contemplative labyrinth (read the difference between a labyrinth and a maze below) while setting an intention and leave any negativity behind.

The historic Sunnylands estate operates primarily as a private, high-level retreat center. Public access is limited to guided tours, offered when retreats are not in session. Tours and tickets.
Desert Wildflowers bloom around Sunnylands

Sunnylands Center & Gardens is a special place for those not familiar. It first opened to the public in March 2012. Upon entering the 15-acre site, a winding driveway takes visitors through a desert art garden to the glass facade of Sunnylands Center. The spacious, contemporary building houses a rotating art exhibition, café, gift shop, and multimedia offerings that detail the history of Sunnylands and its founders, Walter and Leonore Annenberg. For 40 years, Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg welcomed entertainment and world leaders to their winter estate in Rancho Mirage, California.

Yoga in the Gardens

Instructor Kristin Olsen was a fun, amazing instructor. She made us laugh.

Yoga in the Gardens is an opportunity to experience poses ranging from beginner to intermediate. Everyone gathers in a circle on the grass. Yoga is offered Fridays at 10 am, November through April. These free 60-minute sessions are open to all age and experience levels. Participants should bring yoga mats and dress comfortably. Sun protection and water are suggested. Reservations are not required. Parking and admission are free.

Tai Chi in the Gardens

Tai Chi in the Gardens is an opportunity to experience a traditional teaching of the Yang Family 108 Long Form. Participants learn the beginning positions of the form rooted in tai chi philosophy and principles. No previous experience with tai chi is required.

Tai chi is offered on Saturdays at 10 am, November through April. These free 60-minute sessions are open to all ages and experience levels. Participants should dress comfortably. Sun protection and water are suggested. Reservations not required. Parking and admission are free.

What’s the difference between a Labyrinth and Maze?

While they both offer a sense of intrigue, a maze is designed to create confusion whereas a labyrinth offers the chance for contemplation. Rather than featuring wayward paths and dead-ends, labyrinths are unicursal, meaning they have a single path that weaves to the center and subsequently meanders back to the entrance. Many people find labyrinths to be a meditative experience.

Sunnylands Center & Gardens
37977 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

Photos: d. king

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