What’s Happening in the High Desert This November

November is when the high desert gets comfortable again. The clocks fell back on the 1st, the sun is setting before 5 p.m., and the nights are cold and clear. This month there’s a film festival, a night race, an art show, a book festival, and live music in Pioneertown.

Here’s what’s on.

Yucca Valley Film Festival: November 4–8

The 8th annual festival is billed as home to the Hi-Desert’s longest red carpet, and it’s free to attend. The main program runs November 6–8 at the Yucca Valley Community Center (57090 Twentynine Palms Hwy), with screenings, filmmaker Q&As, poster signings, and an awards ceremony. This year the organizers selected 52 films.

New this year: two extra nights of screenings on Wednesday, November 4 and Thursday, November 5 at the Paradigm Movie Theatre in Yucca Valley. The full program is at yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com.

Joshua Tree Half Marathon: Saturday, November 7

This one is a night race. Runners cover 13.1 miles through the desert near Copper Mountain, starting at 6 p.m. at RESET Hotel (7000 Split Rock Ave) in Twentynine Palms, with colorful lights marking the way to the finish. Headlamps are required. To run, check for open entries at vacationraces.com/joshua-tree.

You don’t have to run to enjoy it. Spectators are welcome around the finish line. The expo opens at noon, a margarita truck opens at 3, and there’s a “Show Your Glow” costume contest raffle before the start. If you’re coming to watch, park at RESET, on the neighboring streets, or at Tortoise Rock Casino (shuttles run from there), and don’t drive out onto the course. Bring layers, because it gets cold fast once the sun is down.

Joshua Tree National Park Art Expo: November 6–29

The 14th annual Art Expo fills the historic 29 Palms Art Gallery, next to the Oasis of Mara, with a juried show of 50 to 60 artists, all making work inspired by the national park. It’s free, and everything on display is for sale.

Opening weekend is November 7 and 8, with artist booths on the gallery grounds, art activities, live music, food from Rocky’s Pizza, and a cash bar. Saturday’s awards reception runs from 4 to 7 p.m., with awards presented at 5. After opening weekend, the gallery is open Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The gallery is at 74055 Cottonwood Drive. More at jtnparts.org.

If it gets you in the mood for local art, the shop is full of it.

Veterans Day: Wednesday, November 11

The Morongo Basin Veterans Tribute alternates between Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms each year, and this year it’s at the Yucca Valley Community Center. Expect a pancake breakfast hosted by the Single Marine Program, military and public safety vehicles on display, a veterans ceremony with a flag ceremony by Marines from the Combat Center, and live music from local band Desert Sol during a free community barbecue hosted by the Yucca Valley Elks Lodge. Check the Town of Yucca Valley for the day’s schedule.

Joshua Tree National Park is also fee-free that day, so the usual $30 per-vehicle entrance fee is waived for U.S. citizens and residents.

Twentynine Palms Book Festival: November 13–15

The 4th annual Book Festival takes over the Twentynine Palms Community Center (6547 Freedom Way) with more than 100 authors, 20-plus panels and talks, and a book fair. It’s free to attend, and registration is on the festival site.

A few things we’d circle:

• Friday, 5 p.m.: Deanne Stillman in conversation with Jardine Libaire, marking 25 years since Twentynine Palmswas published.
• Friday, 7 p.m.: Noir in the Boneyard, crime and noir fiction read out loud at the Twentynine Palms Public Cemetery.
• Saturday, 2 p.m.: naturalist and author Obi Kaufmann talks about his new book, California Inside Out.
• Saturday, 7 p.m.: Voices of the Desert, an evening of readings at The Palms in Wonder Valley.
• Sunday, 11:30 a.m.: “From Dust to Denim: Dressing the Desert Life,” a talk on how desert clothing shaped California style. We obviously like this one.

The full agenda and registration are at 29pbf.com.

Climb Smart: November 20–22

Friends of Joshua Tree hosts its annual climbing festival and education weekend at the Indian Cove Group Campground & Amphitheater inside the national park. It’s ticketed, with daytime clinics taught by working guides. Tickets include a Friday-evening-only festival pass for $75, plus day passes and full-weekend options. No dogs are allowed, and kids under 14 can’t climb. Details and tickets are at Friends of Joshua Tree.

Live Music in Pioneertown

Pappy & Harriet’s has a show almost every night this month, across rock, country, folk, and everything in between. Rodrigo y Gabriela, Paul Cauthen, Son Volt, The California Honeydrops, and Keller Williams are all on the calendar, along with a two-night run from Jerry’s Middle Finger. Get there early for the BBQ and find your spot before the room fills up. See the full lineup, dates, and tickets at pappyandharriets.com/calendar.

In the park and the night sky

The Leave No Trace Traveling Team will be at Joshua Tree National Park November 5–7 with workshops, outreach, and stewardship projects. Joshua Tree National Park Association also has a S’more Science Lecture on November 19. See joshuatree.org/events for details.

The sky gets good this month:

• New moon, November 9. The darkest nights of the month are the week around it.
• Leonid meteor shower, peaking the night of November 17–18. It’s a modest shower, around 15 meteors an hour at best. The first-quarter moon sets around midnight, so the best viewing is after midnight until dawn.
• Full Beaver Moon, November 24. A big, bright moon over the boulders.

Bring a blanket, a hat, and more layers than you think you need.

At the Post

Our outdoor market runs every Saturday and Sunday this month: November 7–8, 14–15, 21–22, and 28–29, starting at 9 a.m. Local makers, handmade goods, and vendors you won’t find anywhere else. The Joshua Tree Certified Farmers Market runs alongside it on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Grab a warm drink from the courtyard bar and make a morning of it.

Saturday, November 28 is Small Business Saturday, a good day to shop local. And if you’re already thinking ahead, our farm-cut Christmas trees are arriving in the courtyard around the end of November.

Before you head out

Stop into JT Trading Post before any of these. We’re open seven days a week, weekdays noon to 5 and weekends 9 to 5. Pick up a warm layer for the cold nights, a hat, something from a local maker, or a book for the weekend. We’re at 61716 Twentynine Palms Highway.

November out here is quiet and cold and clear, and there’s a lot going on. Get out in it.

JT Trading Post | 61716 Twentynine Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree, CA | Open 7 days a week
jttradingpost.com