As kids, we all looked forward to Summers and dreaded the Fall because that meant back to school and a return to serious matters. Not here in Palm Springs! Fall is when the fun begins and this town wakes up. And this past weekend, Columbus Day Weekend was the first big one of the Season. The change has been in the air…cooler temperatures bringing the cool people back into town. What better way to kick it all off than two big events: mini Modernism Week and Mod Palm Springs where Shag (aka Josh Agle) was in attendance with some of his uber hip Tiki and Palm Springs art (that’s too mundane a term for Shag’s stuff…sorry).

Unfortunately, because I didn’t emerge from MY long Summer slumber, I was unable to score any mini Modernism Week tickets. Wah, bummer! I did make it to the ever so clever Paul Kaplan’s Yard Sale, tho’. Who can resist a good yard sale…and this was a good one. Lots of groovy vintage furniture and memorabilia. There was a Jacques Caussin (aka Chairman of the Board….of Modernism Week…hey if Shag has an aka, why can’t Jacques?) sighting. I even bought a lovely French lithograph (I hope it’s a lithograph) from him. And I bought a cool Harvey Probber-type Danish Modern Moroccan table from the very nice owner of Sleek Modern Vintage Furniture on Pico Blvd. in LA. (sleekmodern@yahoo.com/323-901-2932). He even delivered it and carried it into my living room. Doesn’t get better than that.

After my quick interior design interlude, I hurriedly mosied over to the comfy, cool Curve Hotel for….ta-dah: Mod Palm Springs, a wacky, throwback event paying homage to backyard BBQs, drinking mai tais and dancing around the pool in a 2-piece bathing suit. It was exclusively headquartered at The Curve, a stylish, trendy but reasonably-priced, modernist boutique hotel appropriately positioned right where Palm Canyon Drive curves into East Palm Canyon. The event featured boutiques, bands, tropical drinks and de rigueur revelers. What else could you ask for?

I caught up with Rory Snyder, one of the organizers of the inaugural event. I naively asked him to explain how the Mod PS Weekend was different than Caliente Tropics (which I’d been to before). He said, “Mod Palm Springs is modernism with a twist of tiki and Caliente Tropics was tiki with a twist of modernism”. I like it.

Also chatted with the John Murasky, Palm Springs’ in-resident illustrator/cartoonist at his “booth”. Great, fun stuff. And talked to Stevo Stevotomic, too. Gotta get one of those cool clocks. When Palm Springs Lounge has it’s own office building, I’m going to commission him to do the signage!

Martini Kings were rocking out there, too. Love their name…well and their unique blend of fun, vintage, quirky music, too. Did you know they are the #1 live event band in LA? They’ve even played red carpet events at the Academy Awards!!! They’ll get you into the Palm Springs mood, with their Dionysus Records LP, “Palm Springs Serenade. Check them out in a memorable performance at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes.

A good time was had by all….except me because i missed out on a lot of the fun at Mod Palm Springs AND Modernism Weekend. It’s never going to happen again…I plan to be a ubiquitous fixture at both of their upcoming events this Winter!!

New York has the Statue of Liberty, Paris—the Eiffel Tower, even Lake Havasu has the London Bridge. Now, Palm Springs has its own iconic monument. It’s in the shape of a super-star blonde, leggy and tall. I’ll say tall…she’s 26-feet tall, weighs 17-tons and stands on the corner of Tahquitz Canyon and Palm Canyon Dr. in downtown Palm Springs. Yes, it’s the representation of Marilyn Monroe standing over a gusty subway grate in her appearance in The Seven Year Itch, 1955.

This incredible sculpture created by American artist, J. Seward Johnson Jr. is in town for one year having just arrived May 2012. Seward Johnson created the “Forever Marilyn” sculpture out of painted steel and aluminum; making her in sections so she could travel and be reassembled in the next city on her tour.

She is so lifelike that one automatically smiles while looking at her. Whether you’re looking up her skirt (yes, that seems to be the big hit) or just leaning against a leg, you can’t help but feel happy, giddy and a little voyeuristic. So why not join in on all the fun. Don’t be the only one without a photo of themselves in front of Marilyn’s panties. Better hurry, our new icon is not really ours forever, she’s only visiting but I can’t think of a more perfect representative of the beautiful, unique, sexy, crazy town we call Palm Springs.