Shields Date Garden is a 1924 roadside attraction and orchard in Indio, near Palm Springs. The orchard grows the sticky-delicious fruits in its name, sells them, makes date milkshakes (mmm) and screens a very famous information film, on loop, over and over, all day, called "The Romance and Sex Life of the Date."
These words are painted on the outside of the attraction. They're large. As in LARGE. And while we may see "sex" written on the outside of some businesses, rarely does one see the word emblazoned upon a genteel fruit stand.
Shields is a lovely, air-conditioned place where you can slurp milkshakes and learn how agriculturists fertilize female dates from male trees (it's a whole process, believe it).
But I'm inspired by it, too, on a creative level, and here's why:
1. It's a beautiful vintage fruit stand. Beyond a stand, really. A queen among fruit stands. A fruit emporium.
2. It's a fruit shop that plays a movie. On loop. About date procreation. Fruit, movies, and science are three of my happy things but rarely does one find them together in the same place at the same time. Magical.
3. It is a wholesome, fruit-selling place and yet it has an eye-popper of a sexy sign painted on the front.
This is my favorite combo in a business: A place with a sense of humor. A place that is sweet with a sassy streak. A place that will put a giant sign out front imploring people to discover how dates, uh. Date?
Spoilers: Dates do not dim the lights, put on soft music, nor light candles. I know this now.
The Wilfair world is a fairly innocent place, I suppose, save the flirty innuendo and forearm talk and kiss thoughts and. And. Hmm. Okay, it's a mostly innocent place and yet? It has its own
"romance & sex life" signs, too, displayed here and there, subtle markers that I hope are cheeky and fun and light-hearted.
The upshot? I want conflicting concepts to exist in a single space for the Wilfair books. I want a celebration of squares with the occasional sweaty palm and stomach-flip thrown into the mix.
It can be done. I've seen it done. Shields, you rock.
