Arts & Culture

   The identity of Laguna Beach is intimately tied to arts and culture. Its history as an artist's hotspot dates back to 1903, when painter Norman St. Claire traveled here from San Francisco and returned home with glowing reports and landscape paintings encouraging many other artists, like Plein Air (Open Air) artist William Wendt and marine painter Frank Cuprien, to move to Laguna Beach. Within a few years more than half of Laguna Beach's population of 300 included artists. By 1918 so much art was being produced here that the town opened its own art museum, one of California's first. Other early institutions of the local arts scene included the White House Restaurant and the Laguna Playhouse.

   The town was hit hard economically during the early years of the Depression, but still managed to kick off its highly successful Festival of Arts immediately following the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and it remains popular today. Each year the event transforms Laguna Beach into a giant art gallery, with outdoor pageants, community plays, a street market, parade, and tours of artists' studios. One of the Festival's main attractions is its Pageant of the Masters, which first introduced the idea of "living paintings" with local residents dressed in costume enacting famous paintings. Another tradition here is the 13 year old musical parody called "Lagunatics," featuring local personalities, such as the mayor and chief of police, in skits poking fun at local culture and lifestyle.

   These days, the Laguna Beach area is home to hundreds of artists, and hosts a variety of additional arts events, including Wildlife Art Day in mid July, Asian Arts Day in late August, and the Jazz and Wine Tasting Series, which happens every Thursday.