Hundreds celebrated one of Laguna Beach‘s most iconic community institutions on Saturday, Aug. 13, when the Festival of Arts marked its 90th anniversary and threw a free party for the whole city to enjoy.
The festival is this seaside town’s artistic foundation. It began in 1932 when a collection of early Laguna Beach artists wanted to host a makeshift extravaganza to take advantage of tourists coming to Los Angeles for the Summer Olympics. Now each summer, juried painters, sculptors, jewelers, and mixed-media artists win slots to set up booths and show off their art on the Festival of Arts grounds on Laguna Canyon Road.
Alongside the festival, the famed Pageant of the Masters is a nightly attraction. Patrons attending the famed “living picture” production often come early and browse artists’ booths before the nightly pageant.
The festival has been a support to the local community. Graduating Laguna Beach High School students have been awarded over $3 million in scholarships, and the festival’s grounds — recently renovated — are available for use by community organizations in the off-season.
The festival has also done its share to contribute not only to Laguna’s art scene but also the county as a whole.
“Participation in the summer fine art exhibit has given many aspiring artists ‘a start’ while providing established artists a place to showcase their work and access to over 200,000 summer visitors,” said David Perry, festival board chair. “I think the summer festival also reinforces the notion that the Laguna Beach community is a serious supporter of the arts. Our goal is to make art accessible and approachable to all.”
On Saturday, local dignitaries, including Laguna Beach Mayor Sue Kempf and Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, attended the ceremonies to commemorate the milestone. A proclamation from the city was also presented.
Events included a live concert with Lee Rocker, a founding member of the Grammy-nominated music group, the Stray Cats. The Stray Cats sold more than 10 million albums, garnered 23 gold and platinum-certified records, and were among the early music-video pioneers of MTV.
There was also a photo booth, proclamations to two of the longest-exhibiting artists, and a special cupcake birthday salute.
Honored was Dan Miller, a custom jewelry artist, who has exhibited at the festival for 50 years. Miller specializes in educating his customers in the old-world art of custom jewelry design, and for nearly five decades, he’s been designing custom jewelry in Laguna Beach.
In that time he’s collected a worldwide client base and continues to work with multi-generations of people he met decades ago.
“It gives you a degree of international exposure that’s hard to get otherwise,” he said of his summer shows. “The Festival of Arts and the pageant draw people from all over the world.”
And Jacobus Baas, an oil painter, who first showed jewelry at the festival in 1972 was also recognized. An award-winning Plein Air artist, Baas co-founded the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association.
