Oct. 6 Daily Briefing: First Filipino Festival is this weekend, why you keep hearing a helicopter, and more

🤘 It’s Friday, and if you notice a little more traffic than usual this weekend, there’s a reason. The three-day music festival Power Trip is taking over the Empire Polo Club in Indio, usually the home of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival (and Stagecoach). The headliners include Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and more. This is the first time the festival is being held, so there’s no telling how much it will affect daily life in Palm Springs.

🎶 Setting the mood:  “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses

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LEADING OFF

Inaugural Filipino Festival hopes to inspire community

This weekend, locals have a new event to explore with the inaugural Coachella Valley Filipino Festival.

Driving the news: On Sunday, the Coachella Valley is invited to the Palm Springs Cultural Center starting at 11 a.m. to experience the food, music, and culture of the rich Filipino community here in the valley.

What to expect: The all-day free event has something for everyone. Attendees can look forward to Filipino cuisine like adobo and lumpia, a cultural marketplace selling Filipino crafts and art, themed cocktails, martial arts demonstrations, dance lessons, and live performances.

• There are more than 30 food and retail vendors and entertainers coming in from throughout southern California.

How it happened: Organizers were inspired by similar events in San Diego and Los Angeles, and wanted something of that scale here in the Coachella Valley.

Why it matters: The Filipino community’s roots in the valley go back a century. Filipino farmworkers played a large role in one of the most important strikes in American history, the Delano Grape Strike of 1965.

• The Filipino community of the desert has rallied behind the festival, with local Filipino businesses like Varraco Coffee Roasters offering to help.

What’s next: Michael Milan, chair of the planning committee said businesses and organizations they’ve partnered with think the event has the potential to be a well-established yearly festival. 

What they’re saying: The biggest goal of the festival is to connect the younger Filipino generation with their heritage and culture. 

• “We’ve received some beautiful messages,” Milan said. “Someone messaged me out of the blue to say they wish their grandparents were still here so that they could see the Filipino community come together like this.”

Dive deeper with our full story online.

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BRIEFLY

🎓 COD students in race for scholarships

Twenty College of the Desert students are participating in a unique competition to win scholarship money.

Driving the news: The event is described as an “Amazing Race-Style” competition where 20 COD students “race” around the Coachella Valley to “find” COD alumni and register them in “The Great Alumni Hunt,” reminiscent of the hit CBS show where contestants race around the world looking for clues. 

Details: The students earn points for every alum registered and earn more points if the alum meets specific criteria such as unique professions, hometown location, and earliest graduates. 

• To sweeten the deal, one alumnus chosen at random will win two tickets to a Coachella Valley Firebirds game on Oct. 25. The winners of the six scholarships will be announced at the hockey game at center ice. 

What they’re saying: “Students will receive a tremendous networking opportunity for their career development working with their talented mentors,” said Catherine Abbott, Executive Director of the COD Foundation. “The Great Alumni Hunt will show the impact of our talented COD Alumni while supporting students who are putting themselves through school to achieve their educational dreams.”

But wait: If you’re an alumnus, fill out the form online to be “found” and pick which student will be awarded your points. 

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THIS WEEKEND

ALL WEEKEND

Catching the Light: Terry Masters Retrospective
Desert Art Center
Today is the opening for the retrospective on the local artist Terry Masters. The show will be open through Oct. 15. 

Mid-Century Moderns
Revolution Stage Company
Performances of the musical comedy continue this weekend and through Nov. 26 thanks to the new Revolution Stage Company, located in downtown Palm Springs near Revivals. ($45)

Steel Magnolias
Palm Canyon Theatre
The classic show hits the stage in Downtown Palm Springs starting this weekend. ($17-$32)

TODAY

Singing With the Desert Stars
6:30 p.m. | Cultural Center
Desert Ensemble Theatre presents a benefit for its theater internship and scholarship program. During the show, seven “Star Coaches” will perform and mentor seven “Star Contestants” in performing a song, then the audience chooses a winner. ($125)

Fellini Retrospective: And The Ship Sails On
7 p.m. | Cultural Center
The retrospective of the Italian director continues with this late-career film following a motley crew of European aristocrats on an ocean liner. ($12)

SATURDAY

Certified Farmers’ Market
8 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Camelot Theatre
The market returns to its outdoor location, with local farmers and vendors offering fresh agri­cul­tural and related products.

Justice Rally, Remembering Section 14
4 p.m. | Frances Stevens Park
The free rally is an ongoing cry for justice and commemoration of Section 14, featuring food, face painting and live performances from DJs, a mariachi band, Mexican folk dancers, a comedian, and more. 

One Night Out: Bollywood
7 p.m. | Palm Springs Air Museum
The fundraiser event will raise money for the Palm Springs Unified School District’s educational enhancement programs. The evening will pay homage to the Bollywood film industry with food, a Bollywood dance troop, and more. ($35)

SUNDAY

Coachella Valley Filipino Festival
11 a.m. | Camelot Theatres
The inaugural festival will celebrate Filipino culture and heritage in the Coachella Valley with food, cocktails, art, music, dance, a marketplace, and more. The event is free, and there are activities for all ages.

Broadway Boozy Brunch
11 a.m. | Bouschet and PS Air Bar
The latest “in-flight” experience offers a brunch menu and live entertainment with recognizable music from Broadway. ($75)

SAVE THE DATE

• Coachella Valley Filipino Festival  at the Cultural Center on Oct. 8.
  
  
• Lesley Zerebny Memorial Softball Game at Big League Dreams on Oct. 14.
  
  
• Center Stage 2023 benefitting The Center on Oct. 20 ($350)
  
  
• Palm Springs Pride 5K Run & Walk on Nov. 4 ($40 registration through Nov. 1)

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AND FINALLY …

Many Palm Springs residents were noting online this week that they’ve been hearing and seeing a helicopter buzzing the skies. So, what gives? The Desert Sun looked into it.

Turns out, the helicopter was being used to inspect utility infrastructure, which is often done to reduce the risk of fires. There were six flights recorded this week from Tuesday to Thursday, all done in a six-mile straight line, out and back.

Bottom line: “I know it’s monotonous for everybody,” a representative of the helicopter company told the newspaper, “but that is the profile of the flight and they’ll pretty much do that all day long.”