VillageFest: Palms Springs Open Air Market, something for everybody
“Thursday night Street Fair was the weekly central social event of the ‘the historic village of Palm Springs.’ There were fancier, more exclusive events in the city, but they weren’t weekly and they weren’t egalitarian — the heralded and the homeless were both welcome at Street Fair.” Doctor Tom Reynolds, Gun Play.
“It was just after sunset. The sun, had given up until tomorrow, and we creatures who hang out in deserts, humans and others, had made it through another day. Cause to celebrate. The Street Fair was the human equivalent of all the desert creatures waking up from their afternoon stupor of hiding from the heat, and scurrying about in the cooler evening air looking for food, water, and even entertainment.” Doctor Tom Reynolds, Gun Play.
Michael hands out Gun Play tee shirts at Village Fest
This writer owes a debt to Village Fest, one demonstrated in the above picture of me handing out Gun Play logo tee shirts in February of 2007. As a local author, initial sales of Gun Play, before the Shooting Shrink Series went national, were driven by my appearances at Village Fest. Even before I wrote Gun Play, I was in love with Village Fest and I viewed it, along with the Tramway, as the premier signature locations of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
Jasmine Wait, Village Fest Coordinator, and her staff do a fantastic job each and every Thursday evening to provide residents, visitors to the Coachella Valley, and vendors a premier experience. In my opinion, the Village Fest experience is equal to the small open air markets of Europe.
Village Fest appeared several times in the Gun Play plot, once as the location of a shooting incident. As I continue to evolve the Shooting Shrink Series, it will be hard to resist the temptation to return to Village Fest.
Now, when I appear at Village Fest to promote the series, I no longer have my own booth. You’ll find me at Peppertree Books. However, I will always remember my several experiences as a vendor. On those occasions, when I was signing books or logo tee shirts, I always ended my evening with a walk through the entire event. If you run into me signing at Peppertree Books or simply walking through the vendors stalls, be sure to come up and say hi! If there’s anything I like more than writing, it’s talking.
-Michael Thompkins