Eve of Desert Concorso 2014

Palm Desert CA, Mar 29 2014 - The desert can be a formidable place, but add a little water, greenery, and shopping - people will come for miles. Add classic cars to that mix and you have magic in Palm Desert CA! You could tell something was up – suddenly the place was crawling with Ferraris and trucks hauling car trailers. Saturday evening the center section of downtown – El Paseo Drive was roped off to allow a line of exotic cars (including a very rare Pagani Huayra), pre-showing off the inaugural Desert Concorso. Desert Concorso is the spring in the desert version of Concorso Italiano – the famous Monterey-Pebble Beach Italiganza in August.

The kick-off event was an exhibitor reception at the Melissa Morgan Fine Art Gallery. Italian automotive artist Monica Lotti showed nearly 20 of her paintings, featuring highly textured works applied by spatula. The crowd of car collectors and participants buzzed with anticipation, wondering how the 1st Desert Concorso would turn out. On appearances alone, they’re off to a great start.

Photos by Randy Berg (click any image for Flickr slideshow):