This is our 4th visit to the festival. But first time in the morning on Sunday. BIL found street…read moreparking two blocks away. It's free admission. We entered on foot through Santa's Workshop. When we left after 12 noon, Santa himself was there. The first thing we did was visited all the sponsor tables where we picked up swag. College of the Desert had some nice items - stress ball, lip balm, highlighters, etc. Then it was tamale time. Which vendor? Sis and I lined up at the longest line one. We waited about 1/2 hour but spoke to a couple ahead of us who told us which vendors they enjoyed. The longest line was Casa De Silvia. I heard snatches of people's conversations about the chili relleno tamale. When I got up to the order counter I ordered it plus chicken in green sauce and pork in red. The chili relleno tamale lived up to its reputation. Very good. Filled with cheese and chopped green poblano stuffed. Yummy. Later I got a pineapple tamale from The Tamale Fiesta booth. Said came with pineapple pieces. I didn't see any in mine. There's an eating area with canopies that offered much needed shade. We ate our tamales there. Hubby & I made an observation - there seemed to be less tamale vendors than in the past. But the ones that participated offered delicious tamales. We did a complete circle of the festival. Ample porta potties. After a couple of hours we exited.

The festival used to be so much bigger and so many more vendors. The last few years (post covid)…read morehave been smaller and 2025 was smallest yet. We tried many tamales and were disappointed in most of them. Barely took any home to freeze for later. We drive from Riverside every year but probably won't go for 2026. It's just not worth our time anymore. Riverside has a much smaller but better quality vendors festival in late April so we'll probably just attend that one and get our freezer tamales there.

SO RECOMMENDED!!!…read more My experience was one for the books I went second weekend and it was so much fun! I honestly expected way much worse with all these horror stories I was hearing but no it's was a 10/10 experience. Yes the food and drinks we a little expensive but it's expected in festivals like this. All the staff members were super helpful especially for the handicap section. I will be coming back.

*record scratch* Yep, that's me…read more You're probably wondering how I got here. Well... When Goldenvoice posted their best Coachella lineup since 2014, I gave my fiancé the look. You know the one. The "if I don't go to this with you, I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life, because when will the next time we will be able to do this together be? Like literally we will be on our honey moon around April next year and the year after that we might be trying to start a family and then when?" look. And shockingly, he was also impressed by the lineup. And since he rolled over that easy, I broke the news that I'd also feel regret if we didn't get VIP wristbands. Now, VIP is obviously not cheap. We had to come up with ways to subsidize the total for this experience, which resulted in attending weekend 2 and car camping. I know what you're thinking: oh you poor thing, how ever did you survive such a harrowing series of inconveniences? It was my first time attending weekend 2, and it was 110% more chill than weekend 1. I'm gonna be honest, I don't recognize famous people in person anyway, and usually I'm too busy doing things at Coachella to notice who's around me. So aside from some of the W1 acts that didn't perform on W2, I didn't feel like I missed out. Not sure how the VIP experience is on W1, but there was plenty of space, mostly clean bathrooms, and pretty short food and drink lines for VIP W2. We decided VIP was worth it for the extra space alone. Car camping, on the other hand, was as I expected and remembered it to be. I don't have a problem camping, but I always seem to end up with people who have never been camping before--ever. So while we saved a butt-load on lodging, the campground activities are fun, and we had chill and friendly neighbors, the experience was just mediocre enough that my fiancé would be fine never doing it here again, unless we came with a big group of people. And to that, I say, "Nice." I was happy to see that overall, the prices have not increased much in the last four years. I remember I was absolutely pissed in 2022 at how far the price jumped for basic food, but I guess they did that with the intention of not having major price increases for the next few years. Slices of Spicy Pie were $11 in 2022, and only $12 in 2026. The signage and directing was much better than previous years, and I don't know if that was because it's W2 or if it's generally better. There's also way more free stuff being given out now (I guess thanks to influencing). We were camping somewhat close to the porta-potties, and thankfully it only smelled for about an hour per day while they pumped them. Otherwise, super convenient to walk to. Only complaint was that they didn't clean and pump the first time until afternoon on Friday, so people had been using them for over 24 hours before toilet paper and such got refilled. No running water there, though (only sanitizer). Bring a roll of toilet paper (or two). The showers were not great, as usual, but we went at a time where the line wasn't too bad. At 7am, the line took about 20 minutes for the masculine showers and 45 minutes for the feminine showers. Bring shower sandals (and your own shower products). The festival itself was just as grand as I remember, with tons of art and other interactive spaces beyond the music stages. Always fun to also see and hear many big names in music and dancing with other attendees. We spent sets pretty evenly between GA and VIP viewing, but all times between sets we spent mostly in VIP areas. The VIP area by Sahara was the least impressive of the three, with also the absolute worst bathrooms. The flushable toilets in that area had been gassed by someone with major gastrointestinal distress, while the portas were never fully clean. Rose Garden had the most open space, and the flowers were in-bloom. Serene, almost. 12 Peaks had the best bathrooms, a speakeasy, and the best food. It's also the largest area of the three. We tried to go here as much as possible for food and bathroom trips. Can't really speak to much in the GA areas this time, besides the street food alley was a cool addition since my last visit, and we enjoyed visiting the speakeasies. They are in AC and the drinks are good--definitely check them out next time if you haven't. We tried all except the Sabrina Carpenter one (line was way too long). I also love the GA Indio Central Market, with all the shade and food options available in one place. Awesome to see Block Party serving drinks this year. I honestly didn't see myself going to Coachella again this soon, but I'm glad I did. I don't want to say that we definitely won't go again as soon as next year...but I guess we will just have to wait and see the lineup.

These tostilocos come with an Agua Fresca underneath & you can only get it @ the Riverside County…read moreFairgrounds, go to the Raspados de Sur station by the horse track. You'll definitely enjoy it

Visiting the Riverside County Fair and National Date Show at the Riverside County Fairgrounds felt…read morelike a pretty standard county fair experience with a slightly confusing title. I honestly expected to see more about dates, given the name, but I didn't come across much that tied into that theme. Most of what's here centers around carnival rides, classic fried fair food, and the usual midway energy. I did enjoy checking out the fair entries, which added a nice local touch and broke up the ride and food loop. It's a relatively small fair overall, and I was able to see just about everything in roughly two hours without rushing. Fine for a casual visit if you're in the area, but not something I'd plan an entire day around.

Wow. Heard such great things about this juried 4 day art celebration that I came from Nashville to…read morejoin my dear friend who'd previously attended. Worth it!!!!! It's a beautiful outdoor event spread out with lots of walking amongst the artist tents. There's a quaint pond in the center, food truck area with some limited seating, clean VIP trailer restrooms, and beverage and snack tucked away all around the area. Tip- wear a hat, sunscreen and comfy shoes. You'll be outside the entire time, walking mostly on grass and some pavement. But let's get to the fabulous array of artists! You'll encounter the artists themselves and most seem to enjoy sharing their stories and talking about their passion. Fabulous jewelry, paintings, sculptures as well as clothing and accessories. You feel so inspired and in awe as you peruse the event. Most artisans were from the Pacific coast but I noticed some from as far as Florida and New Orleans. Paid parking in the civic center gravel lot made it easy to get right in, and plenty of volunteers to guide you throughout the event. When making a purchase you are given a ticket to turn in before leaving to curtail theft. I loved this event and hope to come back someday!

A wonderful time looking at great art. We come here every year to find special items for our home…read moreand for gifts.

The Big 4 are: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. This years' Festival marks the first…read moretime these bands have played together in the US -- and for fans of metal this concert was history in the making. The California setting for the Big 4 Festival was the Empire Polo Club in Indio and was held on April 23, 2011. The Polo Club venue is essentially a huge field (open festival seating) with vendors surrounding the field and VIP tents off to the side of the stage (Yep, the same venue as Coachella). Estimates were that 55,000 people attended. I decided to try to get a great view and to try to make the day a bit easier by getting VIP tickets. VIP tickets allow you access to the VIP tents to the side of the stage which housed some great food and drink vendors along with food trucks. They also allow you VIP parking, access to the front of the stage, and VIP "bathrooms." Good call on the VIP tickets, but that also meant that because I was near the front of the stage I was also near some huge mosh pits! As expected, the Concert was incredible. I'm a fan of all the bands, but to me Megadeth and Metallica outperformed everyone. And Metallica's show was incredible! It was great to see all the bands get on stage together and perform. Long day on my feet and dealing with a Festival crowd - but a once in a life time experience!

Get the Napoli pizza and Mario's cannoli, so good!…read more Admission is $10 but we got ours complimentary from the Hyatt resort across the street. All food items at the fair will cost you $$$. Come earlier in the day as most booths are open then. We arrived between 4-5pm and about 60% of the food booths were closed already.

If you love Italian, this is the place to be. So many wonderful booths with so many tempting…read moredishes to choose from. From ravioli to spaghetti to fresh cannoli. And so many ways to quench your thirst. Plenty of entertainment to keep you entertained throughout the day. This is definitely a must see place to be in the desert

I must say for the amount of time and money spent to attend this venue it's already a big…read moredisappointment! No seating together, outrageous prices on everything! If I make it through this alive it will be. Miracle! They couldn't get two seats together for an handicapped person! Sucks big time!

Great event with a great line up. Bathrooms were clean and air conditioned. Drinks were very pricey…read more($10-15 per beer and $15 margaritas). The beer was good, mixed drinks were very weak as they seemed to all be pre measured. Great screens and speakers for views from everywhere. Pit was great, not massively crowded. The food options were decent...didn't seem to have much variation as the many booths seemed to be repeats around the perimeter. In the back though were great options...wood fired pizzas, etc.

Stagecoach was everything I thought it would be and I was content. For a first timer it was a…read morereally fun and worthwhile experience. Would I come back again? Yes! Leaving this review I understand my circumstances are different than some and their complaints I can't speak to per se. I didn't need to take a shuttle, I expect food to be pricy so I eat beforehand (almost every venue or festival for music I've been to the food is not priced at a normal rate), I wasn't camping here, and I don't expect a festival or their staff to somehow be able to control desert weather?! Some of these complaints on here are weird. lol. Their experiences are valid but also a lot of these things with better planning or some sense could likely be mitigated, at least that's how I felt after reading them. Maybe I am just too logical? The polo grounds are great, large enough to accommodate these massive crowds and it's a good location as it neighbors La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella giving you variety of areas you could stay if you are traveling. I'm impressed with how many parking lots they have here and with 80,000 people attending I'm not sure how people wouldn't think there would be some walking involved? You can't get that many people and their vehicles, shuttles, and alternative rides all close enough to park and just walk right into a venue. I felt their parking setup was pretty successful if you brought your own car but I understand the shuttles had massive lines and that's unfortunate. I feel like overall the staff are very friendly and nice here. These festivals bring jobs to the community and while you definitely get a variety of workers from all walks of life, I felt my interactions were 98% very positive. So many staff just with a smile on their faces, asking you to get home safe, and thanking you for coming as you walk out, that's a nice touch. I saw staff everywhere I turned and they seemed to have a good handle on things between the security, vendors, and even trash cleanup crews I felt they did a good job. The lineup this year was really great, some hits and misses as will happen but for the most part I was impressed with the headliners. My personal opinion was that Post Malone and Morgan Wallen were some of the best this year, brought good energy and the sound came across really good on my end. I loved the merch options and the ability to buy items ahead of time. The app for the phone was also super handy and I like the organization it helps create when planning your trip. Lastly, the VIP and upgraded wristbands were a must in my opinion. Worth the money I felt as you had better access to restrooms, food stalls, drinks, and of course close to the stage and more room. Stagecoach was great, definitely a music festival worth coming to 100%.

First time attending Stagecoach and I loved it. I've been to Coachella and I can definitely say…read morethat Stagecoach is way better. I'm not a huge country music fan so I only went for one night, but it was worth going to the show. Lana Del Rey was amazing. I will definitely be attending next year again.

Bring it back!! Best Polo Field event ever…read moreVery Local Very fun Great music Low crowds Begins concert season

*** Very chilled way to spend an afternoon. ***…read more Got 8hrs or so? Drive east for Blues & Brews! This festival is an excellent way to mellow out in the desert. 2hrs or so from LA but worth the drive in my opinion. The park is really beautiful (koi pond, ducks, lil bridges, grass, willow trees). Food vendors included a fish mkt, Mex restaurant, German brat spot, and numerous craft breweries. Me likey. Admission is $20, yet parking is free. A great way to get acquainted w/ Palm Desert. *** This could easily be a tea party tho. (lol) ***

I love this art show. Well planned, a nice curated group of artists. Set at the Indian Wells tennis…read moreclub. My only suggest, is to have more food options. That way visitors would be more inclined to stay longer, rather than leave the park for lunch.

My choice for the best arts festival in the desert! We look forward to it every year. A…read morewonderful variety of high quality art - there's something for everyone's taste. Love the kids art projects area. The desert views from the Gardens are amazing...a work of art in its self! A beautiful day surrounded by art and beauty. What more could you want?