La Quinta Art Celebration ENCORE 2026 runs Thursday, November 12, through Sunday, November 15, at the La Quinta Civic Center, 78495 Calle Tampico, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. According to the organizer, 154 artists will exhibit this fall, and 43 of them are showing at La Quinta for the first time.
March is the best-known date for this show. It runs alongside the BNP Paribas Open and draws the peak of the winter season. The November edition has a different history. It began as a pandemic stopgap, and it became permanent because La Quinta residents filled the Civic Center lawn and took the art home with them.
A postponement that turned into a second season
The Celebration is younger than many people assume. For 37 years the La Quinta Arts Foundation ran the event as the La Quinta Arts Festival. In 2019 the foundation announced there would be no 2020 festival, and the city-owned La Quinta Art Celebration held its first show in March 2020, shortly before the pandemic shut down large events across the Coachella Valley. The next edition was pushed to Veterans Day weekend 2021, November 11 through 14, with 200 juried artists on the Civic Center Campus.
The organizers were worried about holding a show in November. So they marketed it mainly to La Quinta and Coachella Valley residents, including two weeks of ads during "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!", The Desert Sun reported. Here is what Paul Anderson, owner of SCOPE Events, told the City Council afterward, according to the same report:
- Attendance was almost the same as the March 2020 show, which drew more than 13,500 people.
- At least 70% of the November crowd was local, based on the ZIP codes on credit card ticket purchases.
- Advance ticket sales were up 230% over March 2020.
- Art sales were up more than 22% over 2020.
The sales figure was only part of the story. Anderson said an artist who normally ships 10 to 12 purchased pieces a year shipped none that November, because "they were all taken home" by the buyers. Shipping is how a sale reaches a visitor's home in another state. Carrying a canvas to the car works when your wall is a few miles away.
"It was a whole different group of people" attending than come in March, Anderson said.
That line comes from The Desert Sun's coverage, which also quoted Anderson saying that many visitors were people who had just moved to La Quinta. The volunteers changed too. Of 138, 36% were new to the event, and many were new to the area. Cathedral City artist Leslee Adams told the paper it was her best sales in 14 years of showing at the Celebration and the Arts Festival before it. After those results, Anderson proposed holding the Celebration twice a year and named the November show "La Quinta Art Celebration Encore."
The pricing still suits people who live nearby
The ENCORE you can attend this month is still a city-owned event produced by SCOPE Events, with Paul Anderson as CEO. The ticket structure benefits anyone who can make more than one trip. As listed on the official ticket page and in the organizer's preview:
- Single day, adults: $25
- All four days, adults: $30
- Children under 12: free
- Self-parking: $10
- Valet: $20
A four-day pass costs $5 more than a single day. For someone flying in for one afternoon, that's an extra they will never use. For someone who lives ten minutes from Calle Tampico, it covers a Thursday walk-through to scout booths and a Sunday return to buy the piece that was still on their mind. Tickets are sold at the gate or in advance online, and the event helpline is 888-263-9052.
The show is smaller than its first November edition, at 154 artists compared with the 200 who exhibited in 2021. Almost three in ten of this year's exhibitors are first-timers, so regulars who know the usual booths still have new work to find. "Collectors return because they know the work is carefully juried, yet they also want the excitement of discovering someone new," Anderson said in the organizer's ENCORE 2026 preview.
Three booths to find, one from Rancho Mirage
The organizer's preview highlights three artists, and their booth numbers make them easy to find:
- Rebecca Molayem, Booth 333. The Los Angeles expressionist painter and sculptor made this year's poster. She is known for bold color and exuberant figures in coastal, nightlife, floral and interior scenes.
- David Palmer, Booth 501. His work is on the event t-shirt. He paints Pop Art imagery on layered surfaces that look like weathered frescoes and peeling billboards. He has also created digital effects for feature films including The Polar Express and Spider-Man 3.
- Doug Anderson, Booth 102. The Rancho Mirage ceramic artist made a one-of-a-kind "Tennis" chess set, commissioned by Anne and Steve Furgal. Tennis players serve as the kings, queens, bishops and knights, and ball kids, line judges, referees and scoreboards fill the rest of the board.
The chess set fits the week. The organizer points out that the WTA Women's Tennis Finals are being played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden during the same week as ENCORE. Between booths, live music plays at two locations, and the food and drink stops include the Champagne Bar, Amphitheater Bar, Oasis Lounge, Palm Bar and Margarita Grill. Mayor Linda Evans said in the preview that the fall Celebration "gives residents and visitors the chance to meet exceptional artists, and enjoy our city's hospitality at its best."
The rest of the long weekend around it
Two other events that week are aimed at residents. With a four-day pass, it's easy to fit them around the art show.
| Day | Event | Where | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 12 | ENCORE opens | La Quinta Civic Center, 78495 Calle Tampico | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | $25 day / $30 four-day |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | ENCORE closes | La Quinta Civic Center | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | $25 day / $30 four-day |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | 19th annual Fall Family Festival | SilverRock Park, 51900 SilverRock Way | 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Free |
During ENCORE week, the La Quinta Museum at 77885 Avenida Montezuma hosts the Torres Martinez Creation Story, presented by the Torres Martinez Cultural Committee and the La Quinta Historical Society for Native American Heritage Month. Check the City's event listing for the time before planning it around a visit to the art show.
On Sunday, the closing day of ENCORE, the Fall Family Festival returns to SilverRock Park for its 19th year. It offers live entertainment, children's crafts, a petting zoo, pony rides, food vendors and community exhibitors, and admission is free. The art show closes at 4 p.m. and the festival runs until 5 p.m. A household with children can split the day between the two, or use the four-day pass to buy at Civic Center on Saturday and spend Sunday at SilverRock.
When the Civic Center lawn fills up again
The Civic Center Campus is busy again three weeks later. The City's annual Tree Lighting Ceremony is Friday, December 4, from 6 to 9 p.m., with train rides, live performances, hot chocolate, a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and snow. Admission is free. Two days later, on December 6, IRONMAN 70.3 comes to La Quinta. The City's IRONMAN page is where detour maps are posted, and residents can text "LQ" to 888-777 for race-day news and alerts.
If you're weighing how La Quinta's fall and holiday calendar fits the way you'd want to live or host here, Luca Realty Trust can help you think through the details. Schedule a consultation with Luca.
