Meet Jeremy Bernard, co-author of Treating People Well: The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life, a guide to personal and professional empowerment through civility and social skills.

Former White House social secretaries Lea Berman, who worked for George and Laura Bush, and Jeremy Bernard, who worked for Michelle and Barack Obama, have written an entertaining and uniquely practical guide to personal and professional success in modern life. They offer an important fundamental message: everyone is important and everyone deserves to be treated well.Their daily experiences at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue taught them valuable lessons about how to work productively with people from different walks of life and points of view. These Washington insiders share what they’ve learned through first person examples of their own glamorous (and sometimes harrowing) moments with celebrities, foreign leaders and that most unpredictable of animals—the American politician.

Jeremy Bernard, who served as White House Social Secretary and Special Assistant to the President from 2011-2015, will discuss and be available to sign this just-released new book.  Jeremy has been interviewed on television and for print articles over the course of his White House tenure and was profiled in Vogue magazine in March 2015 as the first male and first gay White House Social Secretary. He was also profiled in 2012 in the New York Times, “White Gloves Not Needed.” He lived in Paris and worked as the senior advisor to the US Ambassador in France before becoming the White House Social Secretary. Prior to that appointment, he was the White House Liaison to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Seating is first come, first served and takes place at the
Rancho Mirage Library,
71-100 Highway 111,
Rancho Mirage, CA

During this free 60-minute guided walk, guests explore the winding paths throughout the nine-acre Sunnylands Gardens, enjoying a commentary by a member of the education department. More than 70 species of native and arid-adapted plants from North and South America, Africa, and the Mediterranean are displayed.

This one-hour free walk is held every Thursday at 11 am from November through April. No reservation is required.

Sunnylands Speaker series presents Anne Rowe, Sunnylands director of collections and exhibitions. The lecture will be held at the Rancho Mirage Public Library. Admission is free; seating is on a first-come first-served basis.

Anne is also curator of Carved Narrative, the exhibition currently on view at Sunnylands Center. Anne traveled to Mexico in 2015 to learn more about the Chávez Morado brothers from whom Walter and Leonore Annenberg commissioned a monumental fountain for the entry court at Sunnylands. The result of her research is an exhibition on view through May that features artworks by these famous brothers that have never before been seen outside Mexico. Anne will present the story of the fountain and will interpret the fascinating symbols seen in the exhibition’s artworks.

This event takes place at the Rancho Mirage Library.

Filled with correspondence, photos, and artifacts from the Annenbergs’ famous friends and visitors, the Sunnylands archives have been compared to a presidential library. Memorabilia from Hollywood’s elite and British royalty reside there, too, from the dress Barbara Sinatra wore to wed Frank Sinatra at Sunnylands to letters from Prince Charles.

On December 6, ticket holders to “From the Vault” will be among the first to step inside Sunnylands’ new archive building. The archive staff will display some of the historic items and discuss how they are preserved, catalogued and identified. Learn why and how an item’s owners can add to its value and get hands-on experience in the best practices for digitizing your own family photos.

A reception from 7 to 8 pm will follow the program.

‘Ceremony and Celebration’ is one of several CV Days of Los Muertos events.

Celebrations of death are not uncommon in cultures throughout the world. Think of the New Orleans jazz funeral, the Irish wake and, of course, Día de los Muertos in Mexico, where an annual celebration honoring deceased family members is a national holiday.

How various cultures celebrate death through ceremony is the topic of a Sunnylands Salon Series event, “Ceremony and Celebration: Vida y Muerte,” at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Kristel Laiblin, executive producer of the popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, is one of three panelists who will explore the historic nature of ceremonies surrounding death and how modern technology is changing them today.  Laiblin’s series, which returns for a second season next year, is based on Jay Asher’s best-selling book of the same name. In it, Asher examines aspects of ceremony from the perspective of high school students who must grapple with the suicide of a classmate.

Joining Laiblin on the panel are Jennifer Scheper, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, who specializes in the history of religion in Latin America, and Alexis Nichols, a liaison to the General Council of the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, whose duties include the preservation of cultural ceremonies.

The salon is being produced in partnership with Run with Los Muertos as part of CV Days of Los Muertos, a multi-day observance of Día de Los Muertos in the Coachella Valley.

Ceremony & Celebration: Vida y Muerte takes place at Sunnylands Center & Gardens, 37977 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, Calif.   Light hors d’oeuvres will be provided, and the electro-cumbia band Cumbia Machin will play during a mixer after the talk.

Tickets are $10 per person and seating is limited.  Purchase tickets here.

Sunnylands and Run with Los Muertos will host a salon discussion exploring how various cultures celebrate death through ceremony. This event is part of CV Days of Los Muertos.

In the book 13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher explores aspects of ceremony from the perspective of a group of high school students following the suicide of classmate Hannah Baker. The book was adapted into a popular Netflix Series that aired in 2017 and introduced a large audience to how modern technology is contributing to and changing modern ceremonies. Using the series as an example, panelists will discuss ceremonies in an historical context and how technology is shaping and changing them today.

Speakers include:

Jennifer Scheper – is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Riverside specializing in the history of religion in Latin America with special consideration for the spiritual lives of Mexican and Mexican-American Catholics. Her book, Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present (Oxford 2010) is a history of popular devotion to images of the suffering Christ in Mexico. Hughes second book, Contagion and the Sacred in Mexico, examines the impact of epidemic disease on the religious lives of indigenous communities. Hughes is the founding co-director of UC Riverside’s Institute for the Study of Immigration and Religion. She has written about the Day of the Dead tradition and is also director and producer of a documentary film, Night of Altars, about the Latino activists who organize Santa Ana’s annual Day of the Dead celebration.

Kristel Laiblin – is an experienced and accomplished film producer and executive. Over the course of her career, Kristel has built a reputation as an exceptional collaborator, problem solver and an endless source of new ideas.
She is currently executive producing the series “Thirteen Reasons Why” at Netflix. This adaptation of the NYT best seller was created by Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Brian Yorkey with Anonymous Content and Paramount TV. Season 2 of the is show currently in production. She recently started as the head of Nuyorican Productions, Jennifer Lopez’s production company, where she is developing both film and television projects.
Kristel was a producer on Children of Men directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The film received two BAFTA awards and was nominated for three Academy Awards. It has been recently listed as one of the top ten best films of the decade on various critics’ lists. She has also been credited as producer on the 20th Century Fox picture In Time, directed by Andrew Niccol and starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy. More recently she produced RZA’s directorial debut, Universal’s Man with the Iron Fists, presented by Quentin Tarantino.
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Alexis Nichols – Alexis Nichols- Born and raised in the Coachella Valley and holds an elected position as Liaison to General Council for Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, where her duties include the preservation of cultural ceremonies, day to day business practices, and Governental services for Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. She also sits as an East Valley Tourism Development Authority Board Member for Fantasy Springs, and is raising two daughters and a son on her family’s reservation located in the East Coachella Valley.

Following the conversation, a mixer will feature music by Cumbia Machin, an Electro-Cumbia project from San Diego, CA.

Light hors d’oeuvres provided by Babe’s Bar-B-Que and Brewhouse.

Reservations required. Purchase tickets at $10 per person here.

Guests of all ages are invited to Sunnylands for a thematic day of free hands-on activities based on the Sunnylands Gardens. Enjoy books, games, toys and educational booths on insects, birds, and reptiles. Get crafty and create a mini-garden with a fluttering butterfly, make your own mini-earth with SCRAP Gallery, and design a puzzle piece for a community Earth Day puzzle. Be sure to chat with local Master Gardens about starting your own garden or with Coachella Valley High School students about the Sunnylands Monarch Project.

Special Walks:
9:30 am & 11 am – 1 hour guided bird walk in the Gardens. (Binoculars are recommended)

Educational booths:
• Insect Exploration Station—Use a digital microscope to get a closer look at some native desert insects.
• Reptile Exploration Station—Learn about native desert animals with specialists Tod and Heidi Hogan.
• Bird Exploration Station—Learn about birds with experienced birders Jane Olson.

For more information, please contact the education department at 760-202-2234 or education@sunnylands.org.

Celebrate the centenary of the death of influential artist Auguste Rodin (1841-1917), who created the Annenberg’s sculpture Eve. This special and limited access program will allow participants to spend time sketching the famed sculpture guided by an instructor while in the atrium of the historic estate. Restrictions apply and reservations are required. No previous art experience necessary. Adults only, no children permitted.

November 29 Instructor—David Fairrington is an internationally recognized artist known for his realistic portraits, landscapes and movie poster designs. He served as a combat artist in Vietnam and following his military service he opened his own design studio, designing and executing movie posters for several movie studios. He has been named as a “Master Artist” by International Artist Magazine and his artwork is included in numerous private and corporate collections.

• Space is limited. Reservations are required.
• Unregistered guests may not attend.
• Fee: $25 per participant.
• Online registration is available. Please check the date carefully.
• For additional information, please call 760.202.2254

Materials: Materials are not provided; participants are responsible for providing their own supplies.

Only the following materials are allowed:

• Sketch pads, sketch boards and notebooks. They may be no larger than 18 x 24 inches.
• Graphite pencils, colored pencils, Conté pencils, kneaded erasers, blending stumps and/or tortillons, sharpeners with shavings catcher, and artist chamois.

The following items are prohibited:

• Charcoal sticks, pastels, pens, loose ink, fountain pens, markers, oil crayon, paint (including watercolors), easels, stands or stools, are not allowed. Chairs will be provided for participants.

Photography inside the estate is not allowed and participants will not have access to the rest of the house.

• Participants should arrive no earlier than 6:45am and no later than 7 am. Late arrivals cannot be accommodated. You will be transported by shuttle to the historic estate at 7 am sharp and will be shuttled back to the Sunnylands Center and Gardens at 9 am sharp.
• After the drawing session, participants must depart from the Center, as it is closed to the general public and only group tours are allowed onsite.
• All ticket sales are final; there are no refunds, exchanges, or wait list.
• Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in loss of access to the workshop.

Sunnylands will host art instructors to celebrate the Annenberg’s sculpture of Eve by Auguste Rodin in honor of the centenary of the influential artists’s death (1841-1917). This limited access program will allow participants to spend time sketching in the atrium of the historic estate, guided by instructors. Restrictions apply and reservations are required. No previous art experience necessary. Adults only, no children permitted.

November 22 Instructor—Stacey Campbell received her BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She has taught classes throughout the Coachella Valley at Desert Art Center, Venus Studios, and Coachella Valley Art Center. Partnering with Desert Art Center in Palm Springs, and with help from a grant from the Arts Regranting Program/Inland Empire, she helped the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery, Raices Cultura, and Coachella Valley Art Center, coordinate community art classes in Mecca, Coachella and Indio. She is currently teaching art full time at La Quinta High School in La Quinta, California.

Materials: Materials are not provided; participants are responsible for providing their own supplies.

Only the following materials are allowed:

The following items are prohibited:

Photography inside the estate is not allowed and participants will not have access to the rest of the house.

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.
Taking Sunnylands’ special exhibition Carved Narrative: Los Hermanos Chávez Morado as inspiration, Maite Gomez-Rejon will explore the themes of food, identity, and authenticity in Mexican art and culinary history in a public presentation before a tasting of traditional chocolates.

Maite Gomez-Rejon has a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin, an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Grande Diplome from the French Culinary Institute in New York City. Since 1995 Maite has worked in education departments of renowned museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, and has worked as a private chef. In 2007, Maite combined her two passions and founded ArtBites, art and culinary history combined with hands-on cooking instruction, which she teaches at museums across the country. Maite has been a guest on the Today Show, featured in Food & Wine magazine and interviewed on NPR’s Splendid Table.

• Space is limited. Reservations are required. Unregistered guests may not attend.
• This event is sold out. $25 per person.
• For additional information, please call 760.202.2254