90th parade, a nod to Pageant of the Masters’ colorful history
Parade participants dressed up as figures in well-known works of art make their way along the boardwalk on Main Beach in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Enthusiasts came out in droves on Saturday, July 22, to celebrate the Pageant of the Masters’ 90th season by taking part in a lively and colorful parade through Laguna Beach’s downtown.
The parade, which welcomed festival revelers to dress up as their favorite artists or works of art, was a nod to the pageant’s very first living pictures parade in 1933, which took place during the Festival of Arts’ second year.
Parade participants Sophie Higuchi, left, dressed as Mona Lisa and Sue Ziehmer, right, dressed as Vincent van Gogh, chat in Heisler Park in Laguna Beach before the start of the parade as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participant Cynthia Low, right, waves at diners as she and others walk along Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed up as figures of well-known works of art, make their way along the boardwalk on Main Beach in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters makeup director Michelle Pohl is painted as Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night as she waits to walk in the sidewalk parade of costumes at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures making its way to Main Beach, through downtown and ending at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. Some of the participants dressed up as figures in well-known works of art that have been part of the pageant. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed as figures from the Last Supper, stop for a group photograph on Main Beach in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed up as figures in well-known works make their way along Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participant Ross Johnson, left, waves to shoppers as he and others walk along Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participant Cynthia Low walks along Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Passing motorists wave to parade participants along Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participant Sue Ziehmer, dressed as Vincent van Gogh, checks her makeup in Heisler Park in Laguna Beach before the start of the parade as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed up as figures in well-known works of art gather in Heisler Park in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants cross Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed as figures from the Last Supper, make their way along the boardwalk on Main Beach in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Diane Challis Davy director of Pageant of the Masters speaks to parade participants as they stop near Main Beach in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participant Ross Johnson holds the painting, The Blue Boy, by Thomas Gainsborough as he and others make a stop at city hall in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters makeup director Michelle Pohl, right, painted as Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, walks with others along Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants walk along Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed up as figures in well-known works of art gather in Heisler Park in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed up as figures in well-known works of art make their way along the boardwalk on Main Beach in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed up as figures in well-known works make their way along Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants dressed as figures from the Last Supper, make their way along the boardwalk on Main Beach in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Following their parade through Laguna Beach, participants pose for a group photo as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way from Heisler Park, through downtown and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parade participants from left, Edward Opulencia, Ferris Foster and Chris Reiser, dressed as members in the Last Supper gather in Heisler Park in Laguna Beach as the Pageant of the Masters celebrated the 90 years of Living Pictures with a sidewalk parade of costumes on Saturday, July 22, 2023. The event made its way to Main Beach, through downtown, and ended at the Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
In that first parade, a group of people dressed as “Whistler’s Mother,” “Blue Boy,” “Mona Lisa,” “The Sistine Madonna” and an array of other characters, led interested onlookers to the Festival of Arts, then located near Hotel Laguna.
According to archived reports from the South Coast News, some 2,000 spectators lined Ocean Boulevard to watch the parade as it made its way to a large tent set up for the exhibition in 1933. Admission was 10 cents, which included watching the dressed-up parade characters pose inside a rolling wagon stage not much larger than a double phone booth.
The very first tableau presented in 1933’s “Spirit of the Masters’ Pageant” was “The Girl of the Golden West,” a painting by Louis Betts.
This year’s Pageant of Masters -is themed “Art Colony: In the Company of Artists” and tells the stories of artists and their connections to history.
Now, the show is set in the 2,600-seat Irvine Bowl and presented under the starry sky next to the canyon wilderness. This year’s program includes pieces never displayed before, more music than past years and theatrical illusions, said Diane Challis Davy, who is now in her 27th season as the show’s director.
Challis Davy said preparing for the show this year was “like starting with a blank canvas.”
While in past years, she’s honored many artists with memorable recreations of their work, this year she shifted focus to considering what elements draw artists together, how they inspire each other and what makes them want to work together. Laguna Beach’s art colony was her main inspiration.
“I’m interested in what makes a place an art colony,” she said, adding that this year’s pageant explores the essential ingredients of an art colony and considers what role landscape or a certain light in the sky can play in the selection of a place for artists to gather. Besides Laguna Beach, the show also highlights Taos, New Mexico, and East Los Angeles.
Saturday’s procession started at Heisler Park, paraded along Main Beach and then crossed over to the Promenade on Forest Avenue, making its way through the downtown and ending at the Festival of Arts grounds along Laguna Canyon Road.
Once at the grounds, Challis Davy was expected to select the person with the winning costume from among the parade participants. Fifteen of the pageant’s longtime volunteers were to receive awards. And Challis Davy was expected to be recognized for her longtime commitment.
Challis Davy first got involved as a volunteer cast member in 1976 and became part of the pageant’s staff by working in costuming in 1980. She became the show’s assistant director and then its director in 1996.
