Laguna Beach Must: Festival of Arts

It's the 84th outing for the beach-close celebration of creativity, ideas, and beauty.

THE RITES OF SUMMER... so often revolve around A) food straight from the icebox and B) some sort of water, whether it is a lake or a stream or a sprinklerhead. But let us give love to the tradition of the grand and time-honored art festival, the kind of happening that takes place in a location esteemed for nurturing creativity of all sorts. Laguna Beach just happens to be such a destination, but it didn't come by this honor in the last year or two. Rather, it has been the home to The Pageant of the Masters for over eight decades, and the just-as-venerable Festival of Arts. That's thanks in large part to the artist enclaves that have popped up in the waves-adjacent burg over the year, as well as many locals working to create events that reflect the town's devotion to paint and clay and drama and photography. To dip into that delightfulness, and see hundreds of examples of local artworks, make for the famous...

FESTIVAL OF ARTS FINE ART SHOW: It opens for its 84th season on Tuesday, July 5, when it will host "140 of Orange County's most talented artists." Jewelry, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, and other forms of expression share the scene with watercolors and collages and paintings. It isn't all about artwork viewing, though, at the festival; wine and chocolate tastings, live jazz tuneage, classes for both adults and kids, and informative tours are also on the schedule. If Laguna Beach is on your road trip map from July 5 through the last day of August, a peek at what's on the easels, walls, and pottery wheels is a peek at what's happening now, on the art scene, and a peek long into the past. Soon this celebration will mark its centennial, a true stalwart on the Golden State arts scene. That the sand is only a few blocks away, and great restaurants, too, fills out the other traditions of summertime nicely.

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