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Well kids, it’s been hot, hot, hot. Still, a three-day bake is an absolute must for the sun lover in you. Every hotel in Palm Springs has a pool (as with other things, sizes vary), and many have continental breakfasts. You can stock your own bar, or there’s often a Happy Hour by the pool if you’re craving a little company.

For those looking to hang out poolside during the day, and perhaps make your own romantic dinners or eat in with a delivery from one of our five Michelin Guide restaurants (psst Michelin, you missed a few), Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels offers accommodations with kitchens and dining areas.

For all you party monsters, there’s still plenty to do: clubs are breaking out the karaoke, Star Wars is on the big screen, and a bunch of Happy Hours await you. Let’s get to it:

One and done-ish

The entrance to the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in Palm Springs, California

Summer events at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum give visitors a chance to cool off while learning something new. Photo by Kathy Condon

Aug. 2: Frisky Business Cat Café presents Mrs. Frisky’s Cat and Eccles Cake Night, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Palm Springs’ only cat café offers a fun experience. If you don’t know what an Eccles cake is (I didn’t), it’s similar to a turnover with fruit filling (usually currant, but I don’t think we have those here, although there’s always Amazon). I have been here, it is delightful. They also have a book club. Cats and books and baked goods? I think I need this.

Aug. 4: Adult hip-hop dance class, Palm Springs Dance Academy

Aug. 4: Summer Sundays at Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Today’s topic: weaving patterns. Discover basket techniques in the classroom and galleries. Complete a step-by-step round reed basket project with cultural educator Lorene Sisquoc (Fort Sill Apache/Cahuilla) and view coiled Cahuilla baskets on display.

Aug. 7: LGBTQ Fundraiser with Del Shores at Revolution Stage Company (to RSVP)

Aug. 7: Backstreet Art District. First Wednesday of every month. It’s a bit off the beaten path, down East Palm Canyon.

Aug. 9-11 and 16-18: Splash House. Two weekends of DJs and splashing.

Aug. 18: PS Art Museum Family+ Artist’s Studio, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A fun and free event for everyone. The museum is transformed into a creative hub where artists, makers, and musicians come together to offer a variety of exciting activities and workshops for kids, teens, and families.

Aug. 22: H3K Wine & Design Event, 4 to 6 p.m. Very cool mid-mid designed furniture (indoor and out), clocks, and other household design items. And wine. Don’t forget the wine.

Recurring events

Large art installations inside the Palm Springs Art Museum in California

An inside view of the Palm Springs Art Museum. Photo courtesy of the Palm Springs Art Museum

Thursdays: Free admission to the Palm Springs Art Museum, Village Fest, and official after party at Maleza in Drift. Tap into the Cabo spirit weekly with live DJs, $5 tacos a la plancha, $5 beer, $8 cocktails, and night swims.

Sundays: Summer School Wine Tasting Class with a Palm Springs Bottleshop sommelier, inside Mojave Flea Trading Post, 383 North Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.

Historical Society Private Tours

Sukha Life’s Elevate Sound Bath

Crystal Fantasy: All the woo you can possibly handle in one place. Fun shopping, browsing, great energy, classes. Events include a Reiki Healing Circle and Weekend Psychic Fair.

Groovy locations with libations

A document with flamingos on it and the summer hours of V Wine Lounge

Take note of V Wine Lounge’s summer hours to plan accordingly

V Wine Lounge & Martini Bar: This fantastic retro lounge has entertainment five days a week from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Happy Hour on Saturdays from 3 to 7 p.m.

Cascade Lounge: Ticketed entertainment. Comedy and music. 

PS Cultural Center events:

Movies

Star Wars

Encore: A Summer Concert Film Series: Jazz on a Summer Day, Woodstock, Wattstax

Hitchcock retrospective on Aug. 2: Strangers on a Train

Bob & Bing

Desert Film Society – Great series including foreign films.

Quadz: Gay bar on corner of Arenas and Indian Canyon. Tuesdays are for Tiki & Trivia; Thursdays are Karaoke Night; showtunes on Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays; and the fourth Sunday of the month is Comedy Night.

Reforma Nightclub:

Thursdays, Banda Night

Fridays, Gasolina Party

Saturdays, Belico Party

Aug. 31: DaddyPop! A Labor Day Tea Dance from 3 to 7 p.m.

Hunters (on Arenas)

Aug. 6: Karaoke Night

Aug. 7: Drag Me to Bingo

Drift Hotel (great hotel with a great restaurant, and a ton of stuff to do):

Savasana Yoga (free with RSVP), shaded but outdoors

Friday Comedy Nights: Reviews are in, first show a huge success!

Aug. 8: Good Vibrations Soundbath by Sukha

Happy Hours

Zin American Bistro: Tequila Tuesdays and daily Happy Hour 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Wednesdays) and 3 to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Stay for dinner!

Quadz: Daily (yes, there’s one in Vegas)

We’re a sleepy town during the summer, so Labor Day events have not been announced yet. Check out the Chamber of Commerce for updates if you’ve got a hankering to know. Or just show up and ask. We’re sleepy but we’re super friendly. Ciao for now!

In Palm Springs during the summer months, we sing a little ditty, and it goes like this: “Lord help the sister, who comes between me and my mister,” but we’re not talking boyfriends like Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen are in White Christmas no. It’s those wonderful inventions that are de rigueur in downtown Palm Springs, the ones that provide a light zhuzh of moisture to your skin. And while the first part isn’t true in any sense of the word, we do have fabulous water misters cooling everyone down while they walk down the street. We just don’t sing about it.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, how about a little humblebrag on the weather so far this year? It’s been damn near perfect, that’s what it’s been. A better season has not been had. The ratio of cool to heat, and dry to wet, produced a gorgeous array of desert flowers, and gave everyone a chance to wear a cute vintage jacket or a treasured designer sweater, and what girl doesn’t love fashion?

Now we’re moving into another season (more fashion!!) and if you compare Palm Springs to the peppers on the Scoville scale we’re going to be nearing Scotch Bonnet by the end of June. But right now, we’re at a very do-able Thai pepper.

So, now’s a great time — day or evening — to stroll down Palm Canyon and pop into local watering holes and eateries for a well-earned cocktail and a nosh. If it’s hot, those misters we talked about earlier will be zhuzhing. Caveat: this is not a good time for any hairstyle that requires a hold. That will not happen with misters, so leave the hairspray at home. You look gorgeous au natural.

A beautiful aerial view of Palm Springs. Photo by Chris Miller

For those that would prefer eating rather than drinking their sugar, you must try some of our award-winning toffee at Brandini’s (they give out samples). They’ve also got a great variety of items including popcorn, milkshakes, and ice cream, and can even make you an espresso, with toffee. Enjoy it outside while you check out details for the restoration they’ve got planned on the historic Plaza Theater located next to and slightly behind Brandini.

My favorite date shake is at Tutti Frutti, made entirely with local ingredients. It is heavenly, and I am not usually a fan of dates unless they’re stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon. If you’re not willing to risk your status as a disliker of dates, try the yogurt. It is also made entirely from local ingredients. I am particularly fond of the sorbets (sour apple ZOMG) and of the non-produce options, the salted caramel runs a good race against the chocolate. I have never had a loser here, and I may have tried them all.

If you are a fan of pizza there is only one place and you must go there, I insist. Bill’s Pizza is in La Plaza on the Indian Canyon side, next to Tyler’s (great burger joint, closes for summer). The crust is award-winning sourdough, house recipe, and I am partial to the all-veggie Elton John pizza. They’re all incredibly good though. The pizzeria is super busy all the time, but they’re friendly and efficient. The bathroom is a trip. It’s located outside, then through a coded door, and down a couple of hallways in what feels like a basement. Outside of that, they’re fine. They work.

Back on Palm Canyon, right next to Sonny Bono’s statue, is Maracas Restaurant, and not only do they serve one helluva margarita, the street tacos and salsa are outstanding. The fajitas smell so good they might as well have a smoky cartoon aroma finger wafting out of them leading you inside. The staff is magnifico, and if you see a tall blonde-ish guy with a beard hanging around, drinking a beer, that’s the owner. Todd. Nice guy — say hello.

A luxurious evening dip at your boutique hotel’s sparkling blue pool is a great way to end an evening outside your room. That’s where my involvement ends. You’re pretty much guaranteed that there’s never going to be a mob at your pool like there can be at the larger hotels, so at the end of the day you won’t be hanging around with strangers, but possibly new friends.

For those with grander aspirations than eating, relaxing, and shopping, see the list of events and clubs below and get cracking on a plan. Or just make a plan to come and wing it from there. There’s plenty to keep you happy. Read on…

June 1-4 and June 6-14: Scavenger Hunt (June 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10 are for lovebirds), departing at various locations. 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Read all about it in the link.

June 2-11: Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week. Participating restaurants valley-wide. Menus are often set, as are the prices. It’s a great way to get to know the Coachella Valley! Mangia!

The entrance to Melvyn's

Melvyn’s at the Ingleside Inn is participating in Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week. Photo courtesy of Visit Palm Springs

June 9-11: Splash House: Passes, Lineup. Might I suggest a hotel room away from the bustle? Then just use a rideshare to venue hop. If you’re done for the night, but the party’s still going, you’ll get a good night’s sleep because you were smart enough to book a room at a locally-owned resort or hotel.

June 10: Diana Ross at The Show (SOLD OUT — I just put this in here because I am humblebragging again. Our little valley got Diana Ross!! #sorrynotsorry)

June 2: Lizzo at Acrisure. Our little valley got Lizzo! But unless you’ve already got tickets… (see parentheses above)

June 19-24: Native American Arts Festival, Idyllwild. It’s art in the mountains!

June 20-26: Short Fest. Great option for people who love movies but have short attention spans. I’m kidding (am I? Isn’t that why we like cartoons?). Sometimes a story can be told succinctly and with an impact in a shorter span of time. They know when to stop writing, which is on my list of things to learn.

Clubs

Reforma – Ticketed events, great dancing, and some very fun Saturday brunch shows like Disney Villains Drag Brunch on June 3. Regular menus here.

Cascade Lounge — Located in the Agua Caliente Casino, they have comedy nights, Jazzville, blues reviews, and Latin nights. They occasionally have late night concerts too, so check the website, and definitely check out the new Séc-he spa. It’s pricey but I’m told it’s worth it.

P.S. Underground — No longer underground, they’ve had their own fabulous space since 2019. Highly original, themed dinner theater (or brunch) where the food is as big a draw as the entertainment.

The Purple Room — Weekends are ticketed events with traditional music acts that lean more toward jazz, but they’ve got a mix. The Judy Show is my favorite show in town.

Palm Springs Cultural Center — This space has so much going on, it’s crazypants! They’ve got movies, concerts, plays, weeknight entertainment with snacks and adult libations, and film festivals galore. They’ve always got something cool going on, so make sure to check back often.

PS Air Bar — Like no other bar in Palm Springs, it’s decorated as the inside of an airplane complete with airplane windows. It’s a must see, for sure. The place has a terrific sense of humor about itself, and the entertainment always flies first class local, and so will you. The wine shop below not only has terrific choices in beer and wine, there’s a small “deli” serving delicious salads and sandwiches.

A bar cart at PS Air Bar

All aboard PS Air Bar. Photo courtesy of Visit Palm Springs

If you’re planning on a hike, please go early early early, and take a lot of water with you. The best hike right now is Tahquitz Canyon. The waterfall is flowing merrily down the stream, and it’s about 45 in and 30 out (I don’t know why it is, stop asking me!).

And lastly, we have a brand spankin’ new hotel in town called Drift Palm Springs, and it has a restaurant called Maleza.

That’s it for June, everyone. Don’t forget the sunscreen and the hat, or even an umbrella or a parasol if you’re fancy (and we are!).

See you under the misters!