Events in Twentynine Palms

The City of Twentynine Palms has many exciting events year-round.  From parades and car shows to art receptions and theatre openings, there is always something going on in 29!  Scroll down to see a list and description of annual events in and around Twentynine Palms. 

Parade of Homes

Hilltoppers Motorcycle 29 Palms Grand Prix

Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival 

Street Fair & Car Show 

Pioneer Days & Parade

Open Studio Art Tours

Weed Show

Winter Light Parade

Theatre 29 Productions

Parade of Homes - February

The Parade of Homes occurs annually in early to mid February. This fund-raising event is held to benefit Reach Out Morongo Basin, the neighbors-helping-neighbors program that started in Twentynine Palms and expanded throughout 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.

Hilltoppers Motorcycle Club 29 Palms Grand Prix - April

The annual 29 Palms Grand Prix, hosted by the Hilltoppers Motorcycle Club, offers motorcycle-racing fun for the whole family on the first weekend of April each year. Races are held on a scenic 8-mile grand prix course at the 29 Palms Motorsports Arena, located 3 miles east of downtown on 29 Palms Highway at Mojave Road.

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 Grand Prix is the third race of the Big 6 Gran Prix series, and has been hosted by the Hilltoppers MC in Twentynine Palms since 1996.

Riders of all ages compete in a variety of classes, including Kids and Pee-Wee racing, Quads/Sidecars, Vintage, Classic, and a Pro Team race with a minimum $3000 purse. More than 1300 riders participate. Races begin at 8 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Grandstands are available for spectator viewing. Vendors and food booths are open both days. 

Gate fee is typically $10/person/day, or $15/person for the weekend. AMA, D-37 cardholders, seniors and military I.D. holders pay $5/day or $10/weekend. Children 12 and under are free. Overnight camping is allowed. For more information, contact the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce (760)367-3445.

Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival - April

The annual Joshua Tree National Park Art Festival, founded in 1992, is held each year in early April at the park's Oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms for a three-day weekend, Friday-Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 25 artists have work on exhibit and for sale, each sharing their personal interpretation of Joshua Tree National Park and a love and respect for the Mojave Desert region. Painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, gourd art, 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.

For more information, contact: Mark Wheeler at JTNPA (760)367-5525

Street Fair & Car Show - June

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, artisans, and community booths line the street and downtown merchants extend business hours for your shopping and dining pleasure. Enter your own classic car or motorcycle and help us elect winners in a "People’s Choice" contest. Try your hand at a rock climbing wall, belt one out at a karaoke booth, or beat up an old demolition car. 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 FM provides music with a live, remote broadcast. Join us for hometown summer fun. Contact the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce at (760)367-3445 for vendor applications, car show entry forms, or more information.

Pioneer Days - October

What we know as Pioneer Days began in 1937 with a community May Day affair in which all school children participated. The grammar school furnished a rhythm band and a queen and her court were chosen from the high school.

The hit of the day was the comedy provided by a group of townsmen who dressed up as girls and clowned through a May Day dance of their own. Their May Pole was a crooked tree branch stuck in a nail keg with dangling carpet rags for streamers. A well-attended dance was held that night at the tennis courts. In all, the celebrations netted $28.

A rodeo was held the next day. Events included a boot race, package race, rescue race, potato race, relay race, musical chairs events, a take race, and a pony express race. The afternoon was climaxed by a beef barbecue and ice cream. A soft drink concession was opened, and Twentynine Palms Produce furnished free coffee.

1938 found the celebration called Pioneer May Day, and in 1940 a parade was added. In 1941 the Chamber of Commerce took over the arrangements and changed the date to April. Rationing during World War II postponed further yearly events until 1946 when the celebration was once again held in May. In 1948, the Pioneer Day events moved permanently to October and Western days were adopted as the fixed theme.

Three-day celebrations started in 1950, and Pioneer Days that year featured an ever-increasing number of parade entries, booths, and exhibitions. As the city has more than tripled since the 1950s, Pioneer Days activities have grown with its populations, increasing in scope and variety to become an annual event that both newcomers, as well as old-timers, look forward to with interest each year.

Today, Pioneer Days encompasses nearly a dozen separate events during the third weekend in October, including a hometown Pioneer Days Parade, a carnival and community booths in Luckie Park, an Honorary Judge & Sheriff contest, Little Miss and Master contest, Grand Marshall's luncheon, arm wrestling tournament, children’s activities, pet parade, Firefighters Pancake Breakfast, chili dinner, old timers' reunion, TPHS alumni BBQ, bingo, art exhibits, music concerts, a beer garden in Luckie Park, and more. Most events are free, courtesy of sponsorships by local merchants. Enjoy family fun in a safe, casual environment! Contact the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce at (760)367-3445 for more information and a schedule of events.

Hwy 62 Art Tours - October/November

The Hwy 62 Art Tours (formerly Open Studio Art Tours) is held each year in October, sponsored by the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council (MBCAC) and held in conjunction with National Arts & Humanities Month. The 10-day event, founded in 2002 in Twentynine Palms, features cultural activities and two weekends of self-guided tours of the art studios, galleries, and exhibits of more than 100 desert artists in the Morongo Basin. 

Gallery receptions, art shows, historical exhibits, theatre productions, special events and live music at a variety of venues are also presented throughout the region during the two weekends.

Covering 50 miles and divided over two weekends, the studio tour is rather like a treasure hunt. (Maps are provided; bring water, and be prepared to drive on desert dirt roads to reach some of the studios!) The East End tour includes galleries and studios in Twentynine Palms, Wonder Valley, and East Joshua Tree; and the West End tour includes Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Pioneertown, Landers, and West Joshua Tree.

Programs and maps for the Hwy 62 Art Tours are available at area galleries,  Chambers of Commerce, the California Welcome Center in Yucca Valley, and the MBCAC office and art store in Joshua Tree (760)366-2226.

Visit the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council www.mbcac.org for more information, or check out the online program at www.hwy62arttours.com. 

Weed Show - November

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 at (760)367-2366.

Winter Light Parade - December

The Twentynine Palms Winter Light Parade is held annually on the second 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. Contact the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce at (760)367-3445 for more information.

Theatre 29 - Community Theatre productions

Theatre 29 was formed in January of 2000 to bring quality family theater to the City of Twentynine Palms and the outlying community. Theatre 29 presents six major stage productions throughout the year - award-winning musicals, dramas, and comedies - as well as an annual Haunted House event at Halloween. The Theatre 29 building, the John Calveri Memorial Theatre, also hosts occasional special peformances, fund-raisers, and community events. For schedule and reservations, call the box office at (760)361-4151, or visit the Theatre29 website.

Desert Events Calendar

Visit The Sun Runner Arts & Entertainment Magazine's Calendar of Events featuring a comprehensive listing of events for the Morongo Basin communities of Twentynine Palms, MCAGCC, Wonder Valley, Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, Pioneertown, Morongo Valley, Landers, and other regional Southern California desert communities.