THE 5TH ANNUAL Jacqueline Cochran Air Show returns to Thermal on Nov. 1, and changes to this year’s layout should give fans of the roaring jets and acrobatic stunts a better viewing experience, making it a must-see event in the Coachella Valley. The free event, featuring performances by the U.S. Air Force and Navy, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., filling Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport with families eager to watch military planes performing maneuvers and fly-bys for the crowd, as well as stunt pilots, wingwalking, skydiving, a kids’ zone and more.

A new layout will provide more space for attendees and for the display of aircraft. It also should bring air show attendees closer to the action and reduce the effects of sunlight and glare, according to air show manager Daryl Shippy. “The sun will be on our shoulders, not in our eyes,” Shippy said. “It re-invents the entire show with a new layout.” This year’s event also includes a new location for parking and tram service between the parking area and the event. Parking also is free, as is the tram service. Easy-to-follow signs at the event will direct patrons to the parking areas.

The air show has a special significance for Air Force Capt. Russell Piggott, who has been a member of the demonstration team from Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City for nearly two years. The event will be Piggott’s next-to-last show before he returns to regular duty. He also will be flying in the same show as his father, John Piggott, who lives in the Bay Area. “It’s going to be real nice to be back,” said Russell Piggott, a nine-year Air Force veteran. “It’s one of our favorite shows to do.”

Russell Piggott flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a small, lightweight fighter jet that is known for its maneuverability, during the team’s 15-minute routine that involve numerous loops, rolls and evasive maneuvers. John Piggott has been flying in air shows for 25 years and currently flies a Sukhoi Russian aerobatic plane. Russell Piggott called his father “really the biggest reason I am doing what I am doing today.” His father feels the same way. “I just burst my buttons with pride,” John Piggott said. “It’s an honor for me to be able to fly in the same air show with him.”

The air show also has special significance for Margaret Stivers of Silver Wings Wingwalking. The Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is the first place she wingwalked, an acrobatic ballet performed on and around the outside of an in-flight plane, back in 1991. “It’s a great airport to have an air show at, from a performer’s perspective,” Stivers said. “With other airports, you have to go out further to turn around, but at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport we can do everything right in front of the crowd.”

Stivers does a two-part performance, in which the first part involves her wingwalking around the plane. In the second part of the 12-minute performance, the plane pitches up and Stivers raises the American flag. There also is time to meet with attendees before and after the performances.

“I love walking the crowd line and talking to people,” Stivers said. More information about the event and sponsorships is available at www.jacquelinecochranairshow.org.

Tamale Festival Returns to Indio Dec. 6-7

More than 100,000 expected for two-day event

THE RETURN OF THE Indio International Tamale Festival can mean only one thing— Grandma Lupe soon will be back in town.

Grandma Lupe—that’s what everyone calls her—is an institution at the event, held this year on Dec. 6-7. “I don’t know what she does, but her tamales sure are good,” said festival spokesman Jim Curtis.

How good? Good enough to sell as many as 12,000 tamales during the two-day event, Curtis said. The line at her tamale stand typically takes about 90 minutes to navigate, in part because Grandma Lupe’s tamales are only available in the Coachella Valley during this weekend.

After the event is over, the elderly woman travels back to her home near Blythe, usually with the award for “Best Tamale.” “She doesn’t have a restaurant. She doesn’t do take-out,” Curtis said. “She sells tamales at this event, and she makes her money for the year.” Festival patrons typically buy several dozen tamales each, just in time for the holiday season, including the traditional beef, pork and chicken versions. Also available are dessert tamales—strawberry, strawberry daiquiri, pina colada and chocolate.

More information is available at www.tamalefestival.net or by calling 760.391.4175.

Willis Palms Trail

New hiking trail to offer scenic vistas

A NEW HIKING TRAIL is being developed in the Moon Country area of the Indio Hills near Thousand Palms Oasis, an area popular with outdoor enthusiasts.

The new 1.8-mile segment will connect the Willis Palms Trail to the McCallum Trail and allow hikers to complete a new loop of 5 to 6.5 miles in a moderately challenging, half-day workout. The trail includes access to a 1,308-foot peak which offers commanding views of the surrounding terrain.

Construction is scheduled to start in early to mid-October and the trail should be open in early January, said Geary Hund, associate director of the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, which is working on the trail with the Friends of the Desert Mountains.

“It climbs to the summit of one of the highest peaks in the Indio Hills area,” Hund said. “There is a bit of a climb involved, and a descent as well.”

FREE Neighborhood Conference

Neighborhood Conference offers tips on sustainability

COACHELLA VALLEY RESIDENTS can learn about everything from how to landscape a home to the best way to prepare for an earthquake at the First Annual Riverside County Neighborhood Conference.

The free conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. October 25 at the UCR-Palm Desert campus. The conference includes workshops, exhibits and a presentation on the “Broken Windows Theory” of dealing with potential problems in a community by responding quickly to early warning signs.

A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided at no charge. “It’s something that should be of interest to people in all of our various communities,” said Beety Sanchez of Riverside County Code Enforcement, which is hosting the event.

Other seminar topics include:

• Asset Based Community Development
• Living with Diversity in Your Community
• Foreclosure Ordinances
• Making Meetings Work

Reservations are suggested. Please call 760.343.4636 or to reserve a spot, log on to www.rctlma.org/ce.

Family to Family Program

Seeks to improve foster care system New approach brings a team effort to placing and caring for foster children

THE PLACEMENT OF A CHILD into the foster care system is never easy, but the Department of Public Social Services is developing new approaches to ensure children who need foster care find good homes and have a better chance of staying in a stable environment.

The Family to Family program seeks to partner DPSS with parents, community organizations and staff to bring a more family-centered approach to the foster care system. The program, dubbed F2F, aims to improve child safety and child health, reduce the number of times a foster child is moved to a new foster home and maintain connections between family and child. Such a neighborhood-based approach is aimed at driving home the message that the health and safety of children is everyone’s responsibility, regardless of whether a child lives with his or her birth family or is in the foster care system.

More information about the program is available at the Foster Parent Recruitment Hotline – 1.800.665.KIDS.