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PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID Desert Hot Springs, CA
Walkers at the 13th Annual Paint El Paseo Pink see page 5. Photo by Pat Krause.
PERMIT NO 00005
Friday, October 18, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 81
“Educating Rita” Groves Cabin Theatre Of Morongo Valley Kicks Off 2019/2020 Season By Jack Lyons Theatre and Film Critic Member American Theatre Critics Association “Educating
Rita”, is a two character 1980 British comedy written by Willy Russell who was willing to poke his thumb into eyes of the English class system with its rigid society steeped in traditions where the twain
of the middle class and the working-class would rarely ever meet – at a University. The comedy has echoes of George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” that years later would be made into a musical
blockbuster that would come to be known as “My Fair Lady”. The intimate Groves Cabin Theatre of Morongo Valley is the perfect venue to stage this somewhat talky comedy. The recently renovated
theatre - both inside and outside – places the audience a mere five feet away. That’s enough distance to touch the performers on a good night. It’s the smallest stage area of all the theatres in the hi-desert and the Coachella Valley. They Continues on Page 2
Winged Wonders Pavilion Opens Saturday, October 26 By Desert Star Staff The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is celebrating the return of butterflies and welcomes hummingbirds to the 2,500 square-foot Winged Wonders pavilion beginning Saturday, October 26 at 9 am. Visitors will be surrounded with hundreds of butterflies representing more than 30 species including Monarch, Giant Owl, Queen, Zebra Longwing, Buckeye, Blue Morpho, and Painted Ladies. The interactive pavilion illustrates metamorphosis from pupa to butterfly. Guests also will revel in the close proximity to the world’s smallest birds. Interestingly,
these birds belong to one of the largest groups of birds known as the Trochilidae family. Their name refers to the humming sound made by their tiny fluttering wings, with each species making a different sound depending on the speed of the beating wings. Hummingbirds are nectivores with the large majority of their diet from flower nectar. They are the only birds that can fly backwards, as well as up, down, sideways, and upside down. The Winged Wonders pavilion is open daily from 9 am to 4 pm through May 3, 2020, and admission is $3 for nonmembers and $2 for members.