Dear friends & neighbors:

Welcome to March where we start looking forward to spring and a few hours more of daylight and in Rancho Mirage, another month of entertaining events. There's a lot to do this month so let's get to it.

March in Rancho Mirage seems to be filled with legends: The Chamber of Commerce's Barbara Sinatra Distinguished Citizen of the Year honoree just happens to be a former Rancho Mirage Mayor and City Councilmember, Mission Hills Country Club hosts some of golf's most legendary players at The Galleri Classic, The McCallum Theatre offers discounts to Rancho Mirage residents for an evening of Folk Legends, the Rancho Mirage Speaker Series Legends of Sports welcomes boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard to The Show, and the Coachella Valley Symphony features legendary bass player, songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and vocalist of the Moody Blues, John Lodge. Now that's what I call legendary!

Keep reading to find out all the details of the above-mentioned events, a Beauty and a Beast, and an update on the highly-anticipated new community coming to Rancho Mirage.

Before I get into all the exciting events and updates for March, I want to take a moment to congratulate Rancho Mirage Writers Festival (RMWF) Founder Chairman & President, Jamie Kabler, Debbie Green Miller, Executive Producer, Aaron Espinosa, Executive Director, and the rest of the hard-working RMWF executive team and city staff on an amazing Writers Festival. This year, the Festival brought in 82 authors from around the world, 500 readers, and 630 Angels, transforming our award-winning Library into America's Best Writers Festival. Well done!

If you were unable to attend the 2023 Writers Festival, you can watch all sessions on the RMWF YouTube channel or tune into Rancho Mirage Television (RMTV - Channel 17).

Tickets for the 2024 RMWF went on sale at 9:00 a.m. today. I know they sell out quickly so congratulations to those who were able to purchases passes for 2024 RMWF to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of America's Best Writers Festival!

On February 8, 2023, Desert Arc held their Fifth Annual Recognition Awards Luncheon at Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa in Rancho Mirage. This year's luncheon, appropriately themed Champions of Change, honored nine Desert Arc clients who represent all facets of Desert Arc's programs and business services.

Desert Arc Clients Of The Year who were honored at the Luncheon: (left to right) Desert Arc Client Of The Year Joseph C., Jason C., Shenolene P., Robert Y., Event Chair & Board Member Nancy Singer, Desert Arc President/CEO Richard Balocco, Christian B., Jose V., David Z., Toinesha S., and Kevin G. (not pictured).

I am so proud that the City of Rancho Mirage received the Business Partner of the year! My fellow councilmember Mayor Pro Tem Steve Downs accepted the award on behalf of the City of Rancho Mirage. Councilmembers Lynn Mallotto and Ted Weill as well as city staff were in attendance to show their support for Desert Arc and their important mission to enhance the quality of life and create opportunities for people with disabilities.

Congratulations to all Desert Arc Recognition Award winners: Madeline Zuckerman/Madeline Zuckerman Marketing & Public Relations, Inc. for Champion of the Year, Computer Consultants for Business Star of the Year, JoAnne Gilliam, Tennis Coach & Zumba Dance Instructor for Volunteer of the Year, and Hot Purple Energy for Corporate Philanthropist of the Year!

Visit desertarc.org to see how you can help Desert Arc with their amazing mission.

This evening at 5:00 p.m. at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual Outstanding Business Awards & Board Installation Dinner. This is the Chamber's annual event to honor outstanding businesses and community leaders as well as the installation of the Chamber’s board of directors.

Most exciting for City Council, staff, and myself is the honoree for the Barbara Sinatra Distinguished Citizen of the Year, former City of Rancho Mirage Mayor and City Councilmember, G. Dana Hobart.

I was Mayor when Dana was first elected to the City Council in April 2002 and we served the City of Rancho Mirage together until Dana stepped down in November of 2021 to spend more time with his family.

For nearly two decades, Dana has contributed so much of his time, experience and care to the City of Rancho Mirage leaving a great legacy behind. I proudly congratulate my former colleague and good friend on this well deserved award. 

The Galleri Classic, named after GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, debuts March 20 – 26, 2023 at the renowned Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.

This inaugural tournament will feature 78 legends competing for a $2.2 million purse and marks the first time PGA TOUR Champions has hosted a tournament in Coachella Valley since 1993.

According to a Galleri Classic press release, fan favorites John Daly, Mark O'Meara, Corey Pavin and John Cook, along with the fantastic foursome of Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker have all committed to play in this inaugural tournament.

The new PGA TOUR Champions event will direct a portion of proceeds from The Galleri Classic to the American Cancer Society (Palm Desert office), Desert Cancer Foundation, Eisenhower Health, Hanson House, Pendleton Foundation and Shay’s Warriors Life After Cancer. Click here to read more about how PGA TOUR Champions is giving back.

For more information about The Galleri Classic and how to get tickets, visit their website at thegallericlassic.com.

The City sponsors performances at the McCallum Theatre for residents to enjoy high-quality entertainment and cultural events at discounted prices.

On March 7th, the City is proud to present two of the most popular folk groups of all time together in one show! The Kingston Trio are considered one of the most popular singing groups of the 60’s with the hits Tom Dooley, Scotch and Soda, Sloop John B, MTA and more. The Limeliters are one of the most in demand folk groups of the last 50 years, they have had several charted albums starting in the early 1960’s and were the musical representatives for Coca Cola for 3 years.

The Kingston Trio

The Limeliters

Discounted tickets for residents of Rancho Mirage (with ID) are $70/50/30. Visit the McCallum Theatre's website at mccallumtheatre.com to for more details and to purchase tickets.

Desert Theatricals has been bringing truly entertaining and magical productions to the City's Amphitheater for many years.

Their 2023 season began last month with South Pacific and they are gearing up for their next theatrical adventure under the stars of Beauty and the Beast on March 17-19th!

Actors with Broadway, regional and local credits to their name will bring this amazing story to life right here in Rancho Mirage. Watch as Emily Unnasch as the beautiful Belle and Joe Savant as Beast sing and dance and charm their way into your hearts along with Gaston played by James Hormel, Beverly Crain as Mrs. Potts, Kellen Green as Lumiere, and Thomas Warrick as Cogsworth. This is sure to be a spectacular performance!

Tickets are on sale at desert-theatricals.com and tables for dinner theatre seating can be purchased by calling (760) 620-5993.

The Rancho Mirage Speaker Series has brought some pretty impressive sports legends to Rancho Mirage with their 2023 lineup. We enjoyed The Great One Wayne Gretzky on January 22nd and even got to watch him drop the puck at the CV Firebirds game the night before. Then on February 21st, Emmitt Smith, former Dallas Cowboy and three-time Super Bowl champion kept us entertained with stories about his life.

To close out this Legends of Sports series, legendary boxing icon, bestselling author, and Founder of the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation, Sugar Ray Leonard will speak at The Show at Agua Caliente on Tuesday, March 21.

In a career spanning 20 years, Sugar Ray Leonard fought 40 times with 36 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw. By his last professional fight on March 1, 1997, Leonard's boxing record stood at 36-3-1 (25 KO wins, 1 KO loss). Read more about Sugar Ray's life and career here.

If you're a true fan, make sure to purchase the Meet & Greet package, which includes box seats, cash bar and a professional photo with this boxing legend.

For all the important details and to purchase tickets, visit RMSpeakerSeries.com. I hope to see you all there for this last opportunity to enjoy our 2023 Rancho Mirage Speaker Series!

I don't know about you but I am so excited for the Coachella Valley Symphony to be back at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater for their 2023 season. They opened with a free event of Best of Stage and Screen on January 29th playing vibrant, lively and beautiful selections of John Williams, Tchaikovsky and Mozart.

Their next event, which is Sunday, March 26th, will feature a very special guest! The CV Symphony will accompany legendary bass player, songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and vocalist of the Moody Blues, John Lodge. The 2023 tour of John Lodge performs "Days of Future Passed" with the CV Symphony at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater.

CV Symphony never disappoints and adding the amazing John Lodge is sure to bring it to a whole new level.

This is a ticketed show and they're going fast. Click here for details and ticket purchasing.

It's been a while since I've talked about Cotino, the first Storyliving by Disney new home community coming to life in Rancho Mirage. As you may have noticed as you travel on Bob Hope Drive, the grading has begun for this amazing project.

Known to a lot of you as Section 31, which is the 600+ acres of land across from the pink walls of Sunnylands. The Walt Disney Co. broke ground on this highly anticipated project on April 26, 2022. The Cotino Storyliving community in Rancho Mirage has been described by the developers as "a dynamic, creative oasis set within the stunning landscape of Rancho Mirage."

Just to be clear, it's not a theme park -- it's a new housing community consisting of single-family homes and condominiums, plus a hotel, shopping, dining and entertainment - even a beach in the middle of the desert and will be a perfect addition to our city.

Cotino Community Site Update | Storyliving by Disney

Watch Disney Imagineers paint the spectacular setting residents and guests will experience every day.

If you would like to learn more about this wonderful community and all amenities, you can subscribe to receive email updates here.

Mark sure to add these important dates to your March calendars!

-Chamber's Annual Rammys - 3/1/23

-McCallum Theatre's Folk Legends - 3/7/23

-Daylight Savings begins - 3/12/23

-Desert Theatricals' Beauty & the Beast - 3/17-3/19/23

-Spring begins - 3/20/23

-The Galleri Classic - 3/20-3/26/23

-Rancho Mirage Speaker Series - Sugar Ray Leonard - 3/21/23

-CV Symphony Featuring John Lodge - 3/26/23