A night for fun, art and kinship

EYE ON ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Answering the call of the Pageant of the Masters led to an evening

of fun.

It was impressive to watch the powers-that-be get thoroughly

involved in the process. They seemed to enjoy greeting everyone,

taking pictures, taking measure- ments or whatever it took to make it

run smoothly. Organizers included Diane Challis Davy, Richard “Butch”

Hill, Sharon Lamberg, Marcy O’Malley, Judith Parker, Mary La Venture,

Lyle Brooks, Charli Andreasen, Sharbie Higuchi and Susan Davis --

it’s too long of a list to name everyone.

The evening exemplified the family that the Pageant builds. I

would ask Higuchi or Challis Davy a question about their role, and

being as modest as they are, they would respond with a story about

the volunteers and how the show would not be possible without them.

It showed yet another great side of Laguna Beach ... the people.

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY ART WALK

I’m sure everyone is greatly anticipating the First Thursday’s Art

Walk fifth anniversary on Feb. 6. Art Walk, amazing as it is, will

climb an even higher level with all the happenings at the

participating galleries and the fifth anniversary post-party. There

will be live performances by Elvis Schoenberg’s Orchestre featuring

the fabulous Miss Thing, The Scarlet Sisters, Balloon Diva, Kimberly

Bixler Leeds Dance Company and local favorite Evren Ozan. The party

will follow the Art Walk from 9 to 11 p.m. at the Festival of Arts

grounds at 650 Laguna Canyon Road.

STUDENT ART EXHIBIT

The Laguna College of Art and Design is having a Student Showcase

Exhibition, an exhibit that shows the best that the students have to

offer, featuring work in drawing and painting, illustration, graphic

design and feature animation. The exhibit celebrates National

Portfolio Day. This Sunday the college will host 27 representatives

from prestigious art and design colleges from around the country who

will meet and evaluate the portfolios of hundreds of high school

students who are interested in studying and having a career in art

and design fields. Laguna College of Art and Design is at 2222 Laguna

Canyon Road. Call 376-6000, ext. 233 for information.

ARTIST APPLICATIONS

The Festival of Arts is accepting artists’ applications for its

summer fine art exhibition. Artists wanting to exhibit need to submit

slides of their best art work and a completed application form to the

festival by Feb. 21. The Festival of Arts is an exhibit of the best

South Orange County artists, many of whom are world renowned. The

exhibit will run from July 6 through Aug. 29. To receive an

application or find out information for California’s premiere fine

art exhibition, call 464-4268.

BLUES AND JAZZ FESTIVAL

The ninth annual Blues and Jazz Festival will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb.

1 at the Artists’ Theatre, 625 Park Ave. The festival will feature

greats such as Thelma Jones with John Heussenstamm and the Land of

the Jam. The performance will also introduce Wade Hendricks, who is

the director of the award winning Laguna Beach Jazz Ensemble, and

features the Young ‘Uns. Tickets are $25 for reserved, $15 for

general and $10 for students. The proceeds will benefit the Laguna

Beach High School Music Department. For tickets, call 497-9779.

PUBLIC ART COMPETITION

The city of Laguna Beach’s Arts Commission holds many public art

competitions over the year. The next competition is for an

artist-designed bench competition for 417 S. Coast Highway at a bus

stop outside the Hotel Laguna. The payment for the work will be

$15,000. It needs to accommodate six to eight people, take up a

rectangular space appropriate to the narrow sidewalk, be able to

withstand heavy weight, require minimum maintenance, and use

materials that aren’t too hot and withstand the oceanfront

environment. The deadline is Feb. 3. Applications are available at

the Community Services Department at 505 Forest Ave. For information,

contact Sian Poeschl at 497-0722 or go online to

www.lagunabeachcity.net.

SEARCH FOR ARTISTS

Art A Fair is looking for local entries for the summer art

festival. Jury day will be Sunday, Feb. 2, at the Boys and Girls Club

at 1085 Laguna Canyon Road.

Marketing Director Floyd O’Neil said that there are plenty of

spaces available for new artists to submit their work.

He also lauded their recent award as one of the top 200 art

festivals in the country by Sunshine Artist.

The festival will run from June 26 through Sept. 1. Call 494-4514 for information.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321 or [email protected].