Laguna Beach art festivals still hope to open, even as one cancels its plans for summer

The Festival of Arts announced Monday that it’s canceling this summer’s fine arts show in addition to the Pageant of the Masters — the second time it’s closed since the Festival of Arts was founded in 1932.

The first time it was closed, it was a casualty of World War II. This year, it falls as another victim to the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended the country.

The Sawdust Art & Craft Festival and Art-A-Fair organizers are hoping they won’t have to join the Festival of Arts in a throng of cancelled summer events such as the Hollywood Bowl season and Orange County Fair or local events and amenities such as the summer trolley services and the 4th of July fireworks show.

Neither festival has officially made a decision on whether or not they will happen this summer, though both are slated to open on July 18 and 17, respectively.

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Both have submitted plans to the city for review and decide if they can operate. Those plans include reductions to crowd capacities, operational hours, concessions, changes to signage and installation of plexiglass windows between ticket stands, sales and information booths.

Organizers for the Sawdust festival said they announced their delay of opening in April. Art-A-Fair organizers said in a recent interview that they hope to have a decision within one to two weeks, pending city review.

“I’ve got a bunch of artists who want to know. ‘Are we going to have the show or not?’ You’ve got to start thinking very seriously in regard to how much stuff you’re going to have printed, how many things you’re going to get matting and framing for,” said Mike Cahill, president of Laguna’s Art-A-Fair.

Cahill said he was aware that preparations for artists in festivals could potentially get expensive and if a festival didn’t go on, “[artists] are left holding the bag.”

In a statement released to artists, Monica Prado, who is president of Sawdust’s Board of Directors, said that the festival has not made a final decision on whether the festival would go on, but had refunded all participating artists in an effort called the “Sawdust Summer Artists Resilience Act of 2020.”

No fees will be charged of Sawdust artists, whether or not the festival is able to operate on schedule or if it may need to be delayed to address public health concerns. The Festival of Arts said all artists juried into this year’s show will be guaranteed a spot in next year’s show, with fees credited to the 2021 season. Art-A-Fair will be refunding its artists if the festival does not go on as planned.

“You don’t want to make a ‘no go’ too soon because what if the state turns around a little bit or Laguna decides to be a little more loose,” Cahill said. “So, I’d hate to quit too early and then see down the stream … ‘Dang, if we hung in there, we could have done the show.’ It’s a big balancing act.”

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