Eleven day celebration Palm Springs Modernism Week starts today

Palm Springs Modernism Week, an 11-day celebration
of the popular design aesthetic from the 1950s and 1960s, starts today.
Modernism Week events — more than 100 of them this year — take place
throughout the Palm Springs area through Feb. 24.
Modernism Week begins today with 9:30 a.m. walking tours. The opening
ceremony is at 4 p.m. at Birba Restaurant, 622 N. Palm Canyon Drive, and
buildings along Palm Canyon will be lit for the festival-long “Illuminated
Modern” display. A sold-out kickoff cocktail party is scheduled tonight at
Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms estate.
Modernism Week is “poised to surpass previous attendance levels,”
spokesman Tim O’Bayley said. The 2012 festival drew an estimated 35,000 people.
Some new events at the architectural festival include:
— Modernism Week PreFab Showcase & Modern Living Expo, all days,
parking lot on North Calle El Segundo between Tahquitz Canyon Way and East
Andreas Road. Prefab structures will combine architecture with “green,”
sustainable construction.
— Modern Living Expo, Feb. 16-19 and Feb. 22-24, parking lot on North
Calle El Segundo between Tahquitz Canyon Way and East Andreas Road. Technology,
“green” living and finishes and furnishings.
— “A Mad Men Evening,” Feb. 21, Palm Springs Art Museum’s
Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion, 300 S. Palm Canyon
Drive. The event will carry the theme of 1960s-set television series “Mad
Men” at the Edwards Harris Pavilion, site of “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm’s photo
shoot for GQ magazine. Guests are encouraged to dress from the era.
— Pan Am Exhibition, all days, Saguaro Hotel, 1800 E. Palm Canyon
Drive. An exhibit of memorabilia and uniforms from the now-defunct airline.
— “The Bad and the Beautiful: Film Costumes of the Silver Screen
Fashion Show,” Feb. 20, Temple Isaiah, 332 W. Alejo Road. A fashion show will
feature film costume design in the “Golden Age” of Hollywood, from the late
1920s through the early 1960s.
Other major events include the Modernism Show from Feb. 15-18 at the
Palm Springs Convention Center and daily double-decker bus tours of buildings
in the area.
For information and tickets, go to www.modernismweek.com.