Laguna Art Festivals

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How can you improve on an artist colony near the beach in Southern California? Throw in a few art festivals during the summer and you’ve got my perfect birthday outing. I used to hate having a July birthday when I was a kid because I never got to celebrate with my classmates in school but the Laguna Art Festivals give me a reason to look forward to birthdays now that I’m at that age where I’d rather ignore them. Since birthdays mean I get to shamelessly torture my husband for 24 hours, I get him up early so we’ll be assured a parking spot. We exit the 5 freeway onto the 133/Laguna Canyon Road (be careful not to veer onto the Toll Road!) that winds through endangered pastoral land developers salivate over, but that’s another article altogether… A few miles down, we hang a right into the Act V dirt and gravel parking lot. Depending on the year, it’s been free and you pay for the trolley that takes you into town or, like this year (2005), we paid $5 to park and the trolley was free. I sure don’t want to think about the politics that go into those pricing decisions each year… Anyway, the trolleys run every 10 minutes or so to the festival grounds and also into downtown Laguna, which makes getting around this typically parking-challenged beach town pleasantly convenient. There are three major art festivals in the summer: The Sawdust Festival, Art-A-Fair and Festival of Arts-all along Laguna Canyon Road within walking distance of each other. The first two celebrate their 39th anniversaries this year and the Grande Dame, Festival of Arts, observes it’s 73rd summer. I advise logging onto the websites of the Festivals to see what kinds of discounts are being offered for admissions. This year, we got a two for one deal with my Bowers Museum membership card for the Sawdust and a half off coupon for Art-A-Fair. If you live close by and plan to visit more than once, most have seasonal passes. And every discount helps--and leaves you more to spend on art! We usually start at The Sawdust, not out of any particular design, just habit. After a visit to their well-maintained ladies room, I’m ready to stroll and gaze and sigh. All of these shows are well juried so there’s no junk here. I want one of everything! Of the three festivals, I think The Sawdust aims to give a total experience to their patrons. Not only do they have good art, you’ll find glass blowers, constant entertainment on a lushly shaded deck, lots of different food choices and art classes for the kids. Their atmosphere is casual (there really is sawdust on the ground), all artists are in individual booths and the art ranges from $2 cards to artwork in the hundreds, with lots of potters, jewelers and even my favorite toe ring booth (this year’s theme-The Toe-night Show with Johnny Carson). And the layout allows for gentle breezes even on the warmest days. We get our hands stamped and move on. Next, on the same side of the street, sits Art-A-Fair. More wonderful art of every description, a tad more serious than The Sawdust, more of a gallery setting as opposed to booths, though most of the artists sell greeting card versions of their work. Some of my favorite painters exhibit here and it’s like visiting old friends. It seems to me that more photography and sculpture find their way to Art-A-Fair and the layout is wide open and inviting. There’s a lovely sit-down restaurant at the far end of the gallery and children’s classes are held in the center of the complex. My husband’s one complaint the whole day (yes, he’s a saint…) was that the tarps stretched above the gallery kept out the sun but they also kept out the breezes. We didn’t have as much time in Laguna this year as usual because we had other Birthday Commitments so we went back to The Sawdust to pick up birthday loot. Something I learned this year is that, if possible, buy your art from the artist if they’re around. When the artists aren’t at their booths, you can pay for your purchases at the Sales Counter run by The Sawdust itself. I had picked up a print, some cards and a gorgeous, colorfully swirly, sparkly paperweight at booths without artists on our first pass and left them with our friend Kathy at the toe ring booth. When we came back, the artists happened to be present at their spaces so I paid them directly. One girl thanked me for paying her because, she whispered, The Sawdust takes a commission when they take payments. From a business point of view that makes sense… But as a creative person myself, I know I like to keep as much of my profits as I can. Since we didn’t get to the Festival of Arts this year, let me tell you about our experience when we took the community tour from our hometown to see the Pageant of the Masters, which everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. Most cities in Orange County offer the tour bus excursion to experience the art show and Pageant, which again makes it very convenient if you don’t have to deal with the raised blood pressure of finding a parking space in Laguna… in the summer… The Festival of Arts show itself rates to me as the most upscale of the Big Three. The pieces are expensive, sometimes bigger than life size and of utmost quality. For John Lennon’s jewelry rattlin’ patrons it’s a buying opportunity, but for the likes of me, it’s a museum where I walk with my hands behind my back and admire the precious items from a safe, non-breakable distance. The karat gold, handmade jewelry is found here and the elaborately framed pieces that belong in teak lined libraries. If I sound like a reverse snob, well, I’m just jealous. A walk through the Festival of Arts makes me long for fine things that I can’t afford. But it’s a rich experience humbled by a section of the work of talented school children. Throughout the summer, many classes and theme days attract families and art lovers. On our tour, we strolled around the Festival, ate dinner at a Ruby’s dinette outside the theatre, then found our seats for the Pageant of the Masters. Basically, the Pageant is artwork brought to life. All year, the hundreds of participants practice their crafts--costuming, lighting, standing very, very, very still… Paintings and sculptures recreated by actors fill the stage and spaces around the amphitheatre, narrated with stories of the art and artists. And you sit, fidgeting, wondering how they can stand with their arms outstretched or squatting like that for sooooo long. Several times during the evening, they put together an artwork piece by piece, bringing in the frame, setting the props, spotting the actors, so you can see how the effect is created. It’s not until the lighting clicks in, though, that the oohh’s and aahh’s echo in the bowl of the theatre. My husband, the actor, explains it this way: “In theatre, you light to create dimension. Here, you’re lighting to eliminate dimension.” You leave the theatre with an appreciation for all the time and effort this purely Californian art form requires. Just a little trivia and some resources before I must go and frame my art treasures from this year’s birthday spree. The Sawdust Festival accepts artists only from Laguna Beach, Art-A-Fair is a Co-op and run by the artists themselves and Festival of Arts admits artists from a limited number of cities in the area. Here are some website must-clicks: www.sawdustartfestival.org www.foapom.com www.art-a-fair.com www.lagunabeachinfo.org Wear good walking shoes, apply your sunscreen and bring your checkbook!