Events

The City of Twentynine Palms has many exciting events year round. From parades to car shows to festivals, there is always something going on in 29! Below are general descriptions of our annual events with links that contain more specific information.  

For detailed calendars of events, visit the Desert Region Calendar provided by The Sun Runner Arts & Entertainment Magazine, and the Morongo Basin Calendar provided by Z107.7 FM.  They are excellent sources for detailed events in the surrounding community.

Or view the Chamber's current events calendar.

Parade of Homes

The Parade of Homes occurs annually on Presidents Day weekend in February. It is held to benefit Reach Out Morongo Basin, the neighbors-helping-neighbors program that started in Twentynine Palms and expanded toughout the Morongo Basin. 

The Parade offers a look at exceptional homes in Twentynine Palms, Yucca Valley, and Pioneertown. For more information about the annual tour, please call Reach Out at (760)361-1410 or visit their website.

Annual Hilltoppers Motorcycle Wild West Grand Prix

The annual Hilltoppers Motorcycle Wild West Gran Prix offers motorcycle-racing fun for the whole family. All races are held at the 29 Palms Motorsports Arena located 3 miles east of town on 29 Palms Highway.

The AMA (American Motorcycle Association) sanctioned, FMF Big 6 Gran Prix series is comprised of 6 races, each held in different communities and hosted by a District 37 Motorcycle Club. The 29 Palms Gran Prix is the third race of the Big 6 Gran Prix series. Twentynine Palms has hosted the Hilltoppers event since 1996.

There are different classes in which riders participate including Kids and Pee-Wee racing, Vintage, Classic, and a Pro Team race with a minimum $3000 purse. Over 1300 riders participate. Races begin at 8:00 a.m. both days; grandstands are available for spectator viewing. Vendors and food booths will be open both days.

Gate fee is typically $10.00 per person, per day or $15.00 per person for the weekend. AMA, D-37 cardholders, seniors and military I.D. holders typically pay $5.00 per day or $10 for the weekend. Children aged twelve and under are free. Overnight camping is allowed. This event is held annually in the late spring/early summer. Please contact the Hilltoppers for details. 

Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival

Visit the annual Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival at the park's Oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms. You'll have the pleasure of seeing the work of more than 20 artists on display. A love and respect for the Joshua Tree National Park is the common bond between these artists, and you can't escape the feelings of camaraderie that exist at this festival! Each artist will have work on exhibit and for sale and will enjoy sharing their very personal interpretation of the Joshua Tree National Park with you.

Painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and jewelry are some of the media included in the Art Festival. Joshua Tree National Park Association, sponsor of the Art Festival, is a nonprofit organization that provides support and assistance to the park's interpretive, educational, and scientific programs. Open to the public, there is no fee to attend the Art Festival. Begun in 1992, the festival is held on a consecutive Friday, Saturday and Sunday in early April each year.

For more information, contact Michael Smiley: (760)366-3980

Joshua Tree Music Festival

JOSHUA TREE: The Joshua Tree Music Festival is a three-day event held in mid-May at the Joshua Tree Lake & Campground on Sunfair Road in Joshua Tree. This annual festival attracts music lovers and musicians from around the world. For band lineup, ticket prices, camping and other information, please visit the Joshua Tree Music Festival website. Also available on the JTMF site is information about the Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival held in mid-October each year.

Don’t miss the annual Twentynine Palms Street Fair and Car Show! This extravaganza is held on Twentynine Palms Highway (State Route 62) in downtown Twentynine Palms the first weekend in June. Vendors line the street and downtown merchants extend business hours for your shopping and dining pleasure. Enter your own classic or custom car or motorcycle and help us elect winners in a "People’s Choice" contest. Try your hand at a rock climbing wall or belt one out at the karaoke booth. Have a snowcone or visit an old fashioned soda fountain. Get an airbrush tattoo or face paint for the kids. Local radio station Z107.7 provides music with a live, remote broadcast. Join us for hometown summer kickoff fun. Visit the Chamber's Street Fair event pages for entry forms and more information.

See the 2009 Winners!

Morongo Basin Orchid Festival

LANDERS: Just in time for the Orchid blooms in October, this festival is a fundraising event for charity programs throughout the Morongo Basin. There is food, entertainment, flower education and plenty of fun to be had at this event held at Gubler Orchids in Landers. For more information, please contact Gubler Orchids at (760) 364-2282 or click HERE to visit their website.

Twentynine Palms' historic Pioneer Days celebration in October each year encompasses nearly a dozen separate events including a wonderful hometown Pioneer Days Parade, an Honorary Judge & Sheriff contest, and activities in Luckie Park including a pet parade, arm wrestling tournament, carnival midway, children’s activities, concerts, community booths, vendors, and more. Most events are free to spectators, courtesy of sponsorships by local merchants. Other traditional events during Pioneer Days weekend include a Firefighter's Pancake Breakfast, TPHS Alumni BBQ, Twentynine Palms Art Gallery Chili Dinner, and an Old Timer's Reunion at the Old Schoolhouse Museum. Enjoy family fun in a safe, casual environment!  Please visit the Chamber's Pioneer Days event pages for entry forms and more information.

Open Studio Art Tours

Morongo Basin Open Studio Art Tours is held each year in late October and very early November. The tours include several venues of theatre, art exhibitions and music as well as tours of artists' studios.

For two weekends and the days and nights in between, the Morongo Basin comes alive with the sights and sounds of art - in studios and galleries and from performance venues throughout the region including the communities of Morongo Valley, Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, Landers, Pioneer town and Wonder Valley.

Programs and Studio Tour Information handbooks are available free at area Chambers of Commerce and the California Welcome Center.

Visit the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council website for more information.

Weed Show

The Weed Show is one of Twentynine Palms’ oldest and most unique artistic traditions. This annual display, now in its seventh decade, features artistic arrangements of indigenous desert vegetation as well as found objects both natural and man-made - a desert rendition of the traditional concept of floral display. Each show follows a specific theme. Entries are judged on subject matter, use of desert vegetation, use of accessories, artistic composition and originality. Awards are granted in nine categories, with a “People’s Choice” award to be decided by visitors to the exhibition.

The show’s roots go back to July 1940, when the Women’s Club of Twentynine Palms invited Pasadena printmaker Mildred Bryant Brooks to deliver a lecture on “The Art of Etching.” Legend has it that the local ladies, ever mindful of etiquette, were deeply embarrassed by the lack of fresh flowers with which to decorate the podium and honor their esteemed guest. The ladies of the club expressed their apologies to Brooks, who is then reputed to have said, “Why do you need fresh flowers when you have so many beautiful weeds?” The ladies then dispatched two of their members to gather sun dried desert flora from the grounds of the Twentynine Palms Inn, which they brought back for Brooks to arrange.

The Weed Show made its official debut the following year in 1941. Initially held in private homes, its popularity soon grew to the point where it became a bona fide community event. After the Women’s Club disbanded in 1976, sponsorship of the show passed to the Twentynine Palms Gardening Club then when the Gardening Club disbanded, the Historical Society revived the show which has been going strong ever since.

It is one of Twentynine Palms most characteristic events. The Weed Show highlights the beauty of the local flora and the skill of our town’s artisans, and the history and culture of Twentynine Palms itself. For more information contact the Twentynine Palms Historical Society.

The Twentynine Palms Winter Light Parade is held annually on the first Saturday of December. Join us at 5:30 p.m. as we light up the desert sky with floats and entries of all kinds. Enjoy shopping, dining, and entertainment downtown following the parade as merchants extend business hours for the holidays.

The Winter Light Parade tradition began in Twentynine Palms in 1994. This winter celebration features floats of every imaginable breed. In fact, if you can put lights on it; you can enter it! No judges, no trophies - it's all just for fun. Join us in December as we light up the beautiful desert sky then join us downtown for evening holiday shopping. For more information, see the Chamber's Light Parade event pages.