Every summer since 1932, Laguna Beach, California, has been the home of an impressive display of fine art and community entertainment. The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters are the two major shows that make up this event, with the former consisting of a juried exhibition of work from top Southern California artists and the latter featuring a live, narrated outdoor production and reenactment of some of the greatest works of art in history.
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| During this year’s Pageant of the Masters, Edgar Degas’ Le Café Concert will be recreated into a life-size set design. Three actors are shown here “painted” into the final work, which will be 8 feet wide by 10 1/2 feet hi |
Every summer since 1932, Laguna Beach, California, has been the home of an impressive display of fine art and community entertainment. The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters are the two major shows that make up this event, with the former consisting of a juried exhibition of work from top Southern California artists and the latter featuring a live, narrated outdoor production and reenactment of some of the greatest works of art in history.
Originally started during the Great Depression by Laguna Beach artists as a way to bolster spirits and increase art sales, The Festival of Arts has since grown into the longest-running outdoor fine-art exhibition and sale, and has also been voted one of the top 10 art shows in the United States. This year's festival will feature works of art from more than 150 of Orange County's top painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramists, and jewelers, and will be displayed in a beautiful open-air gallery in Laguna Beach's Irvine Bowl Park. In addition to the exhibition, there will be art workshops and demonstrations, live entertainment, a jazz concert series, cooking demonstrations, and other special events. A one-time ticket purchase for The Festival of Arts—$7 general admission, $4 for seniors and adults, and free for children under 12—is a season pass for the eight-week event, which takes place daily from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. from July 6 through August 30.
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| One of the Pageant directors, Jay Skovec, helps volunteer actors perfect their poses. |
Laguna Beach artist Lorenzo conducted a demonstration at the 2007 Festival of the Arts. |
Pageant of the Masters is celebrating its 75th birthday this year as the leading and most innovative production to combine performing and fine arts. Through elaborate set design and expert art direction, the Irvine Bowl-an outdoor 2,600-seat amphitheatre in Laguna Beach—comes to life nightly when actors transform into living masterwork paintings before the audience's eyes. To add to the awe-inspiring ambience, a full orchestra plays and a live narrator explains the origins, setting, and subject matter of the work while the paintings are being presented. The theme of this year's pageant, "All the World's a Stage," will focus on master paintings throughout history that have depicted the lives and legends of actors, singers, and dancers, and will include the "performance" of Sir Joshua Reynolds' The Tragic Muse, Degas' Le Café Concert, and Aime Millet's Apollo, Poetry & Music sculpture.
Festival tickets range from $20 to $100 (depending on seat location and night of the week), and the pageant runs nightly from July 9 through August 30 beginning at 8:30 p.m. With the purchase of a ticket to any performance of Pageant of the Masters, attendees automatically receive a season pass to The Festival of Arts, as well as to special arts-related events, including educational workshops, live entertainment, lectures, and more. Both shows take place on a six-acre canyon park in Laguna Beach. For more information or to purchases tickets, call (800) 487-3378, or visit www.LagunaFestivalofArts.org.