Year in Review: Events across the Coachella Valley
The Coachella Valley hosts some major tournaments and festivals that gain international attention.
In January, we saw the PGA’s Desert Classic CareerBuilder Challenge golf tournament. In a field of some of golf’s biggest names, including Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm came ahead as the winner.
Then in February, thousands of bikers took to valley streets for the Tour de Palm Springs. The event ended in tragedy after a car collided with a rider. Organizers called the death a fluke.
Read: Thousands ride in 20th Tour de Palm Springs Read: Bicyclist killed in Thermal during Tour de Palm Springs identified
February also had Modernism Week, the celebration of mid-century homes in the desert, which saw more than 126,000 guests from 19 countries.
At the end of the month was the Date Festival in which two local boxers served as the grand marshals this year.
Read: Date Festival’s opening weekend draws more than 100K guests
Jumping to March, the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden featured legends like Serena Williams and Roger Federer but in the end, rising stars Naomi Osaka and Juan Martin del Potro won.
Read: Venus beats Serena in 3rd round of BNP Paribas Open
In April, the LPGA’s ANA Inspiration saw Pernilla Lindberg rise to the top in a dramatic Monday playoff.
And of course, April is when the Coachella Music & Arts Festival is held. The behemoth music festival out-Coachella’ed itself this year with a throwback to the 2000s in a Destiny’s Child reunion and Eminem.
Country fans had their weekend, as some of country music’s biggest stars thrilled fans at Stagecoach.
Read: Country music fans flocking to Indio for 2018 Stagecoach festival
Later in the fall, more than 100,000 people celebrated diversity and unity at the Palm Springs Pride Festival. This year’s theme was youth power for change. 
Read: More than 140,000 people expected to visit Coachella Valley for annual Pride Festival
Finally, we end by going back to January for the Palm Springs International Film Festival. The festival saw some of Tinseltown’s top actors like Gary Oldman and Gal Gadot take top awards.
The 2019 film festival is right around the corner and judging by the exciting cast of winners and incredible film selection, it’ll be another tremendous year for the festival. We’ll have the very latest, live on the red carpet on Thursday, Jan. 3 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Check out our Film Festival section for all the latest PSIFF stories
