“It all started with a phone call from Philippe Jordan who bought a house in the desert. That’s how it came about,” said Barrett Wissman of IMG Artists who launched Festival of the Desert on Wednesday, March 18, in the Coachella Valley. “There was already an important film festival here [the Palm Springs International Film Festival kicks off awards season each January] and Coachella [the Coachella Music and Arts Festival] on the pop side,” he added, noting that he thought there was room for a festival that included orchestral music but also dance, theater, and the culinary arts. The day-long event led by Jordan, who served as this year’s artistic director, took place at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert and at the Sunnylands Center and Gardens in Rancho Mirage. Wissman, who also launched Festival del Sole in the Napa Valley, said the operatic, symphonic and dance performances drew a diverse crowd.  “It wasn’t just someone’s concert. You couldn’t dissect one event from another, they all flowed together, there was an energy about the day,” he said. “People warned me about residents going to bed early in the desert, but the evening event with jazz and dancers was one of the highlights,” he added. And this year was just a preview of what’s to come in the Coachella Valley. Wissman said next year’s event will be over a week long. Better start resting up.

 

Pictured: Guests inside the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert during Festival of the Desert.
Photo by David Crotty

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