La Quinta Art Celebration ENCORE 2026: Your Fall Art Calendar

The white booths go up on the La Quinta Civic Center lawn again in two weeks, with the lake in front and the Santa Rosa Mountains behind. That view used to belong to March. The La Quinta Art Celebration grew up as a spring show, and for years its timing fit visitors more than the people who own homes here.

That changed in November 2021, when the organizers added a fall edition called ENCORE. This year's runs Thursday, November 12 through Sunday, November 15. The organizers built it around one group: owners coming back to the desert for the season. Around it, La Quinta Museum and Old Town La Quinta have dated programs of their own from late October into December. Taken together, the art season near Rancho La Quinta now opens at the same time as the club season.

A Show Timed to the Week the House Opens

The clearest explanation of ENCORE's timing comes from the promoter. In its call for artists on Sunshine Artist, SCOPE Events, LLC says the November event "draws a different audience than the traditional March event." It describes that audience as art enthusiasts from around the Coachella Valley and from California coastal communities, and says the event aims to reach "second homeowners in the desert" while "they are in the Valley opening their homes for the season."

The same listing explains the calendar math. According to the promoter, golf courses open a week before ENCORE and Thanksgiving comes two weeks after it, "so the timing is perfect." So the fall show sits in a set window. It comes after the houses reopen and the courses come back, and before the holiday guests arrive.

The business model also differs from a typical juried show. SCOPE calls ENCORE a commission event, with low booth fees for artists in exchange for 20% of the sales that come from taking part. Promoters Paul Anderson and Kathleen Hughes list more than 50 years of event production experience between them. Lower up-front costs make it easier for artists to take a chance on the show, which helps explain the number of new names on this year's lineup.

Smaller Than Spring, With More New Names

In 2022, its second year, ENCORE was already a four-day outdoor show with 200 artists. The organizers also say the first edition, in November 2021, was ranked the No. 1 fine art and craft event in the nation by Greg Lawler's Top Ten Elite Events for 2022. Here is how this fall's show compares with the spring editions on either side of it:

The fall show is about 30 artists smaller than this past spring's. More than a quarter of its lineup is new to the event. SCOPE Events CEO Paul Anderson spoke to that mix in the organizer's October update: "Collectors return because they know the work is carefully juried, yet they also want the excitement of discovering someone new. With 43 first-time artists joining many established favorites, ENCORE offers both."

The Same Week as the WTA Finals

This year ENCORE shares its week with another event. The WTA Finals are scheduled for November 8–15 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, as announced by the WTA. The two events overlap from Thursday through Sunday, so a tennis morning and an art afternoon can fit into the same day.

The organizers made that link on purpose. Among this fall's featured artists:

• Doug Anderson, Ceramics, Booth 102. The Rancho Mirage ceramic artist made a one-of-a-kind "Tennis" chess set, commissioned by tennis fans Anne and Steve Furgal. Famous players are the kings, queens, bishops and knights. Ball boys, ball girls, linesmen, referees and scoreboards fill out the board.
• Rebecca Molayem, Painting, Booth 333. The Los Angeles expressionist painter and sculptor made this year's event poster. She is known for bold color and lively figures in coastal scenes, nightlife, florals and interiors.
• David Palmer, Painting, Booth 501. His work is on the event T-shirt. His layered Pop Art surfaces recall weathered frescoes and peeling billboards. The Los Angeles artist has also created digital effects for more than a dozen feature films, including The Polar Express, Spider-Man 3 and the first Harry Potter movie.

Between booths, the grounds have live music at two locations and refreshments at the Champagne Bar, Amphitheater Bar, Oasis Lounge, Palm Bar and Margarita Grill. Mayor Linda Evans described the fall show in the same organizer update as a chance for "residents and visitors" to meet exceptional artists and "enjoy our city's hospitality at its best."

Tickets, Parking and the Multi-Day Math

Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at La Quinta Civic Center, 78495 Calle Tampico. Adult admission is $25 for one day or $30 for a multi-day pass, and children under 12 get in free. Tickets are sold at the gate or in advance through the official ticket page.

The ticket rules say a single ticket covers one event day. A second visit costs only $5 more with the multi-day pass, and that matters with 154 booths. It also makes a Thursday preview and a Sunday return trip easy, which suits a week when tennis takes up some of the days.

Parking costs more than the gap between the two passes. Self-parking is $10. The organizer lists valet at $20 in its October update and at $15 on its Getting Here page, so check the rate on arrival. The same page lists free parking at the Village of La Quinta. Over a two-day visit, using the free lot saves $20 or more, a bit less than the price of a one-day ticket.

The Rest of the Fall Calendar

ENCORE is the biggest event of the fall, but it sits inside a longer local season. Several pieces start before it and others run into December. In date order from this week:

1. Now through November 7: Dia de Muertos Mini Altars at La Quinta Museum. The exhibit opened October 27. The city's magazine, The GEM, reports that area residents pick up cigar boxes at the museum and turn them into tributes. Museum director Sharla Fox told The GEM that 15 to 20 boxes come back each year, and that the exhibit became an annual tradition because "every year patrons ask about it."
2. Opened October 27: "Desert Dialogues: Coachella Valley Artists, Past and Present." The show pairs works by Mary Maison, Alson Clark and Carl Bray from the La Quinta Historical Society's collection with new work by the Desert Dozen. The Desert Dozen is a collective in the spirit of the mid-century Smoketree School: Warner Graves, Kathleen Sturkoff, Lynda Keeler, Vaughan Davis, Barbara Noris, Wendy Kahle, David Wolfram, Lisa Loudin, Nita Harper, John Cuevas, Elaine Matthews and Delphine Bordas.
3. Saturday, November 7, 5 to 7 p.m.: Desert Dialogues artists' reception. It is open to the public, and it falls on the last day of the Dia de Muertos altars, so one evening covers both exhibits.
4. November 12–15: La Quinta Art Celebration ENCORE at the Civic Center.
5. Saturday, November 28, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Art on Main Street. This is Old Town La Quinta's free open-air show, with more than 80 local and regional artists. It is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so it works well for holiday guests.
6. Friday, December 4, 6 to 9 p.m.: Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Civic Center Campus, according to the city's Play in La Quinta events calendar.
7. Saturday, December 12, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Art on Main Street returns. Old Town's schedule then continues with five more Saturdays from January 2 through February 27, 2027.

The museum's work is in conversation with ENCORE. Fox told The GEM that Desert Dialogues looks at artists "inspired by the landscape, light, and spirit of the desert." That gives local roots to the national show going up across the Civic Center campus. Art on Main Street does a similar job afterward. When the ENCORE booths come down, a free show of local and regional work returns to Old Town twice before the end of the year.

For anyone reopening a house near Rancho La Quinta this month, that means a full run of art weekends from late October to mid-December. The big juried show sits in the middle, with the museum, Old Town and the city's tree lighting around it. The next turn for the spring show comes March 4–7, 2027.

If you're welcoming guests this season or thinking about how a Rancho La Quinta home fits your fall and winter calendar, Nyla Doering is glad to share what's happening around the Civic Center and the club. Contact Nyla to start your Coachella Valley search or discuss selling your property.