Palm Springs has a long history of nurturing the eccentric. For at least 100 years, the unconventional in this town has been routine. The marginal is mainstream and free-thinkers rule the day. Much of this history is forgotten or overlooked. But this program—the second in a series of informative, entertaining, and revealing takes on Palm Springs' last hundred years—provides them a shining moment in the desert sun.
Why does a hand-carved Canadian totem pole tower over a Palm Springs neighborhood? Which much-loved 1950s-era sports car was named for a local country club? Why did Spanky from The Little Rascals wash his hands before leaving our area? What’s the tale of the 80-year poodle obsession?
Last year’s original Quirks, Kitsch & Curiosities sold out its Modernism Week performance in 48 hours. So 2027 brings its sequel to a larger venue to slip the veil off a fresh assortment of the odd, the unexpected, and the forgotten.
Where did all those larger-than-life robots come from? What about the world’s only “migrating mud volcano”? What’s buried beneath those mysterious utility caps found only on four adjacent Palm Springs cul-de-sacs? Why is it difficult to locate that 18-story flagpole?
Your guide to these revelations will once again be Eric Chiel, a Palm Springs resident, pop-culture documentarian, and local-history enthusiast. Having distilled evidence from more than a century of regional publications, he’ll prove once again that today’s news is tomorrow’s quirk with MORE Quirks, Kitsch & Curiosities: 100 Years of Palm Springs Eccentricity.