Local musician Zach Churchill to lead children’s music program at Laguna Beach Library

Laguna Beach Live has announced it will debut a new program to introduce youngsters to the musical arts this fall.

Classes will be led by local musician Zach Churchill, whose ties to the community include time spent on the airwaves at the Laguna Beach radio station KX 104.7 FM.

“If you’ve ever been to any of Zach’s concerts, there’s always kids up and dancing,” Ava Burton, an associate producer for Laguna Beach Live, said. “He hands out his percussion instruments and has them all joining in.”

The free program will be open to children ages 4 and under and their caretakers. The first session is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 11:30 a.m. at the Laguna Beach Library, 363 Glenneyre St. The program will run for six consecutive weeks.

Burton said she anticipates the sessions will be limited to 15 children and their accompanying guardians.

Participants will have the chance to sing, dance and play child-friendly percussion instruments, which will be provided during the courses.

Laguna Beach Live received contributions from the Rotary Club, the Assistance League and the Festival of Arts to help the organization offer the program for free.

Those interested in joining the program should contact the library at (949) 497-1733 or email grady.counts@occr.ocgov.com.

“We’ve done lots of … different iterations,” Burton said of bringing music to local youth. “We’ve tried to take music into schools and do it that way, but this is definitely a first-time thing for us, and we’re hoping it’s a success, so we hopefully end up doing lots more than just the six weeks.

“If we find that older children want to come, then we’ll do something else geared toward older kids, but this is just a sort of trial.”

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