Modernism Week's October festival runs October 15 through 18 with more than 50 activities. Only one of them carries the Movie Colony's name, and that one is mostly about the 1930s, not the 1950s. For four mornings this month, a docent from the Palm Springs Historical Society will lead a group through these streets telling the story of Spanish Colonial Revival estates, the El Mirador Hotel and Hollywood. That story comes first. The steel-and-glass story comes second.
The tour also keeps a schedule of its own. Walkers are asked to arrive no later than 8:15 for an 8:30 start, and the walk lasts about two and a half hours, so it wraps up around 11 a.m., when much of the festival's day is just getting going.
The Walk With the Neighborhood's Name on It
The festival title is "Stars of The Movie Colony: Romantic Palm Springs." Modernism Week's walking-tour page lists it as "October 15-18 Daily," with a single 8:30 a.m. start each day. Here is how the official description frames the neighborhood:
Originating in the 1930s with the luxurious El Mirador Hotel as its centerpiece, the posh Movie Colony Neighborhood became the private refuge of Hollywood Royalty–Cary Grant, Gloria Swanson, Tony Curtis, Roger Moore, Marilyn Monroe, among others.
The group meets at the corner of East Granvia Valmonte and North Avenida Caballeros. Tickets cost $55 through ModTix. Attendees are told to wear comfortable shoes and bring sunscreen, hats and water, and phones stay put away during the walk. The tour covers exteriors only, it is for ages 13 and up, and pets are not allowed, though service animals are welcome with prior notice. The organizers point people to free neighborhood street parking and note that there are no restrooms. For anyone who lives on these blocks, that means a few extra parked cars and a small, quiet group on the sidewalk each morning from Thursday through Sunday, gone by late morning.
The published materials do not name specific houses or architects on the route. Neither Modernism Week nor the Historical Society lists the stops, so the route is up to the docent who leads it.
A Modernism Festival That Opens in the 1930s
Most of the October lineup is about the midcentury years. The Palm Springs Post's July 28 schedule story lists the new additions: a first-ever Modernism Week tour of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, built around Albert Frey's Valley Station and E. Stewart Williams' Mountain Station; a first look at Blue Skies Village in Rancho Mirage; a progressive dinner at Cotino; and a Charles Phoenix presentation called "LOS ANGELESLAND."
Against that lineup, the Movie Colony walk tells an earlier story. The Historical Society describes the neighborhood as a mix of "romantic Spanish Colonial Revival estates and elegant modernist homes," in that order. In the festival's telling, this neighborhood is where the Palm Springs story begins: a resort hotel, the film stars who came for it, and the houses built before the postwar boom. That is a useful thing to know when friends visit for festival week. Their tour of your street starts with the El Mirador era, not with a carport.
Friday the 16th, Hour by Hour
Friday, October 16 is the one day when a Movie Colony resident can follow the whole festival week from start to finish, from Ruth Hardy Park in the morning to the Convention Center in the evening:
- 7:30 a.m. Blue Zones Project Palm Springs holds its free G-Force Workout in the Park Moai at Ruth Hardy Park, 700 Tamarisk Road, with coffee and conversation afterward. It meets every Friday, so it also runs on October 9, 23 and 30.
- 8:15 a.m. The latest arrival time for "Stars of The Movie Colony" at Granvia Valmonte and Avenida Caballeros. The walk itself starts at 8:30.
- Around 11 a.m. The two-and-a-half-hour walk ends.
- 6 to 8 p.m. The Preview Party for the Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with first chance to buy, plus wine, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are $95 in advance or $110 at the door.
The gap in the middle of that day reflects how the festival is laid out. The Movie Colony's own event happens early. After that, the action moves to the Convention Center and to restaurants and bars around town.
What the Convention Center Is Selling This Year
This is the 12th fall edition of the Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show, produced by Dolphin Promotions. Here are the details:
- Exhibitors: 40, described as national and international dealers
- Merchandise: vintage 20th-century design alongside original limited-edition 21st-century work, including furniture, art, lighting, home décor and outdoor furniture
- Extra: tours of two Airstream trailers
- Hours: Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, October 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Ticket: $30, with return entry both days
Because the ticket covers both days, a Saturday visit can serve as a first look and Sunday as the day to decide. The Fall Show is also where the festival's two stories meet. The morning walk covers houses from before the war, and the show floor sells the furniture and lighting that fill houses from after it.
The Evenings Are Where the Festival Is New
Most of what Modernism Week added this October happens after dark. The Modernism Week Fall Dining Series offers curated meals at five Palm Springs restaurants, Eight4Nine Restaurant & Lounge, Bar Issi, Trio Restaurant, King's Highway and Mr. Lyons Steakhouse, priced from $120 to $230 per person. KESQ lists the Eight4Nine dinner for October 15 at $190 and describes the restaurant as being inside "one of the city's notable midcentury-era buildings" in the Uptown Design District.
Modernism Week After Dark adds late-night events at Spirit Animal inside Hotel Zoso and at the Amigo Room at Ace Hotel & Swim Club. Modernism Week Wined-Up, a wine tasting at Hall Winery, is hosted by CEO Lisa Vossler Smith. In the schedule announcement, Vossler Smith described these "new curated events" as a way for guests to take part in "dining, social, and exclusive wine tasting experiences." KESQ described the new programming as connecting "residents and travelers closer to the city and its history."
All of this adds up to a festival week in two parts. Mornings have a Movie Colony walk and evenings have new dinner and social events elsewhere in town, while the Fall Show fills Saturday and Sunday in between.
Two Prices for the Same Neighborhood
The festival walk is not the only way to take this tour. The Historical Society runs its own "Stars of the Movie Colony" walk on Fridays for $40. It lasts the same two and a half hours, starts at the same Granvia Valmonte and Avenida Caballeros corner, and uses nearly the same description. The Society's event calendar says it reopens in October 2026 after its summer closure, with tickets on sale for the 2026–2027 season, but its October grid shows no specific tour dates, so check before planning a Friday around it. The $55 version runs inside the festival on four consecutive mornings. The $40 version is the regular listing for the rest of the season.
For residents who host visitors in the coming weeks, the next downtown date after the festival is Scoop Palm Springs, which returns to Downtown Park on Sunday, November 1, from noon to 4 p.m. More than 20 ice cream, gelato and paleta makers will take part. The $38.25 ticket includes ten 2-ounce tastings, and proceeds go to the LGBTQ+ Center's Community Food Bank.
If the morning walk gets you curious about which Movie Colony houses date to the El Mirador years and which came later, Richie Usher Realty Group is glad to talk through the architects, the eras and the restoration questions behind the houses on your street, during festival week or after the tour groups leave.
