Goodbye, 2022. Hello, 2023!
Dear Friends of Coachella Valley History Museum,
This year has had many changes. We have a new staff person, Cynthia Hart, running our office, and Cory Grombacher is our onsite grounds and maintenance person. We have been working diligently to continue to enhance the campus and bring new exhibits. There have been extensive electrical enhancements throughout the campus which will improve lighting throughout the campus, and we plan to uplight the date grove!
Japanese Memorial Garden
The restoration of our beautiful Japanese Memorial Garden is complete. If you haven’t seen it, please come and visit! It exceeds all our expectations.
City of Indio City Council Members at the 10th Annual Día de Los Muertos Celebration
We celebrated our tenth annual Día de Los Muertos Celebration between November 1 – 21. The fundraising event held on Saturday, November 6th, was a huge success! We had over 300 guests and 45 volunteers onsite. We lost our board member, Carolyn Daniels, this year - she will be missed. Carolyn was a master gardener, and her colleagues designed an altar in her honor. We also had our first Japanese altar depicting the memory of many Japanese pioneers. We had great feedback, and we are planning to continue to enhance the event every year. Please save the date - November 4th, 2023 - because it sells out fast.
As with any organization we function on the generosity of the many volunteers, supporters, and sponsors that make things possible. This year we would like to highlight our board trustee, Yvonne Weischedel, who is a strong supporter of everything we do. Long-time members and past board members, Carl & Grete Cox, have been part of the museum for decades and we just want to say thank you! We know there are many more individuals and families that are part of our museum family, and we will try to highlight a few every time we communicate with our members.
Sunset Limited Southern Pacific Dining and Lounge Car
We are hard at work on the new Gardens & Railway Exhibit! The stainless-steel train car is currently undergoing some much-needed mechanical work and we hope to have her on campus in 2023. The railcar will be converted into a replica of a Sunset Limited Southern Pacific Dining and Lounge Car. There will also be a Desert Submarine and exhibit building dedicated to the history of rail in our valley. We will surround the items with beautiful gardens, depicting a variety of drought-tolerant plants. Within the gardens, there will be a Monarch Butterfly Garden and Monitoring Station, which will be part of Sunnylands’ current Monarch Butterfly Monitoring Program, a Hummingbird Garden, and so much more.
from a brochure for Sunset Limited Southern Pacific Dining and Lounge Car
Let’s get you on board! There are a limited number of garden and railway naming opportunities – imagine your family name as part of this beautiful exhibit. We hope you are as excited as we are about the many things happening at CVHM. With the increased activity, of course, comes an additional need for funding. While grants may be available, the process is lengthy. The outcome is always uncertain because the field is very competitive – we need your support to make this a reality. Help us lay the tracks and transport the car!
Our grounds are an exceptional place to host your special event, weddings, baby showers, celebrations of life and so much more! Create your memories surrounded by beauty and history. Please visit us at cvhm.org/venue-rental for details on how you can be part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Year-end charitable giving is part of the holiday spirit, and we ask that you consider making a monetary gift to the museum. We have a membership drive currently underway. Please give memberships as holiday gifts. Join us as we continue to enhance and work toward sharing this unique place with our residents and visitors alike.
The number of visitors at the campus has increased dramatically and we truly need more volunteers. Do you have a few hours a week to spend with us? We would love to have you join our family of volunteers and docents. If you would like more information or would like to complete and submit an application, please visit cvhm.org/volunteer.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, staff, volunteers, and visitors we THANK YOU for your support and we wish you a beautiful holiday season.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Rizzo
Board of Trustees, President
Coachella Valley History Museum
