Sawdust Art & Craft Festival

Sawdust Art & Craft Festival
By Shelley Hudson

he 47th Annual Sawdust Festival’s Summer Show is underway. Drawing over 200,000 visitors from around the world, this Laguna Beach tradition is designed to both entertain and educate. Take in the sights throughout this charming hand-crafted village from now until September 1st.

This season’s theme, “Enter a Whole New World of Art,” brings with it a few interesting changes. Marketing Director Cynthia Fung explains, “Local artists have learned to embrace the digital world and some have explored new mediums. New artists bring in new audiences, so every show is different.” With a slew of first-time exhibitors and several new live entertainment groups, the Summer Show is ever-evolving and promises to be a hot ticket.

The Sawdust Art Festival’s primary mission is to educate the public about the Laguna Beach art community at large and to promote and preserve the creative processes and methods of the artists. The Festival hosts workshops and classes year round and organizes fundraisers in coordination with other groups to benefit artists in need and their families. The Summer Show is the Festival’s signature event and is no exception. Key sponsor Subaru has donated a 2014 Forester for a raffle benefitting the art education programs and a live art auction will be held on the grounds on August 11th for the Artists’ Benevolence Fund.

Providing opportunities for artists to contribute their talents to charitable endeavors in the surrounding community is another significant function of the Sawdust Art Festival. This year’s major undertaking is the Artist Video Project—a series of 12 snippets that profile artists and their methods. The project was made possible through a partnership with the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau for the A La Carte Festival in March. Artists designed stemware, serving ware and flatware for the March 10th event. Visitors can enjoy the resulting video series at the Festival grounds daily between live entertainment acts by the Greek Grille stage.

Since the Summer Show is not juried, the variety of art exhibited is of particular interest. Established, popular artists display and demonstrate their work alongside newcomers—each in unique, hand-crafted booths lined up along sawdust-strewn paths. Guests can amble along and watch sculpture, wood crafts, paintings, leather work, glass-blowing, ceramics, textiles, and jewelry being created right there. Over 200 artists—all Laguna Beach residents—operate booths at the event, and all art created on the grounds is offered for sale. Visitors are encouraged to ask the artists questions, sign up for on-site workshops, and attend live art demonstrations.

Activities for kids, including demonstrations and hands-on workshops, are offered daily on a first come, first served basis. This is an ideal opportunity to expose curious youngsters to the art world in a non-intimidating, fun and casual setting. Several themed days are peppered over the schedule, including Hawaiian Surf Day, Green Day, Beatles Day and Country Western Day. Check out
www.sawdustartfestival.org for details.

The Festival’s live entertainment calendar is packed with bands all summer. Music is performed from open to close daily on three stages, covering all genres. A wide variety of food and beverage options are available as well, so plan to bring the whole family and make a day of it.

The Summer Show runs from June 28th through September 1st from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day. Ticket prices are $7.75 for adults, $6.25 for seniors, $3.25 for kids up to age 12 and free for kids five and younger. Season passes are $15, but a more impressive bargain is the $21.50 Passport to the Arts. The Passport also gets you into the Festival of the Arts and Art-A-Fair. Freebies are offered to locals, too. Visit the website for your Orange County zip code’s free entry after 5:00 p.m. Laguna Beach residents can enter for free every Thursday evening after 5:00 p.m.

Parking can be tricky, but a little patience and planning will go a long way. A limited number of metered parking spaces are available on the Sawdust Festival grounds, but it’s best to walk down Laguna Canyon Road from downtown or park in the Act V lot and hop on a free shuttle.

See you at the Sawdust!

Sawdust Art Festival • 935 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA • 949.494.3030 • sawdustartfestival.org