Wealth of knowledge

Suzie Harrison

To stand out in the arts in an esteemed artist colony such as Laguna

Beach is quite an accomplishment. These chosen few will be recognized

at the Orange County Arts annual awards on April 22. Fifty-five

candidates, including arts organizations, have been nominated for

contributions to the arts during 2003.

Festival of Arts board member David Young will be recognized for

his lifelong commitment to the arts with the Orange County Arts

Cultural Legacy Award for Community Visionary.

He received a separate honor by the Volunteer Center of Orange

County -- the Spirit of Volunteerism Award -- on Wednesday.

Others don’t know the outcome yet. Laguna Beach nominees for

outstanding service to the arts are Peter Tiner, in the Outstanding

Arts Educator category; two Lagunans have been nominated for the

Outstanding Volunteer Award, Sharbie Higuchi and Janice Johnson.

First Thursdays Art Walk is up for Outstanding Arts Organization.

Mike and Ellie Gordon for an individual or couple, Outstanding Arts

Patron and Matt Greville of Wells Fargo Bank, in the Outstanding Arts

Patron Business category.

Young, a resident of Laguna Beach since 1945, is a fixture in

Laguna and has served on the Festival of Arts board since 1954. He is

humble despite all his significant accomplishments in town and

prefers not to talk about himself. Instead, he prefers to give kudos

to others.

He said he has had two passionate love affairs in his life, the

first with his wife and the second with the festival and pageant.

When he found out about the cultural legacy award he said he was

elated.

“It’s a nice honor especially due to the fact of the other

honorees,” Young said.

Young, 91, is a walking history book and a wealth of knowledge. He

recounted his days volunteering on the school board in 1932. There

was a big controversy about a principal who had belonged to a

communist cell during her college days. He stood by her, steadfast in

his beliefs and not folding under pressure.

He left the school board because it was too political. In 1954, a

board member of the festival said to Young, “we need a board member

like you.”

He became a board member immediately and it has been his passion,

though he recognizes it has not always been smooth.

“There have been some real rough spots, and at times some of the

board members have forgotten what the festival is here for,” Young

said.

He remembers his first year on the board when the budget for the

pageant was $40,000 and tickets were $3.

“People sat in the bowl, there was no concrete, it was cinders and

mud, just basic,” Young said.

He said one year Bette Davis helped out by painting the names on

the [festival’s seating]. Her boyfriend at the time Hap Graham was on

the board.

Young further spread his love of the arts when he founded the Art

Institute of Southern California, now called Laguna College of Art

and Design.

“I started the art school because I thought we needed a place for

the local artists,” Young said.

“Little old ladies did the work in their garage [creating the

pageant pieces],” Young said. “They were enthusiastic, but needed to

learn the basic principles in art ... so we started a school for

them.”

He said the school used to be at the Laguna Playhouse’s location.

They built two studios that became the college.

“I got the Festival of Arts to give me $5,000 in seed money to

start with, and went to 20 of my best friends in town and talked them

out of $1,000 a piece,” Young said.

In 1957, he established the first scholarships in art, the

Festival of Arts Laguna Beach High School Scholarship program. He

reminisced about the first $1,000 cash price, which was a lot in

those days he pointed out. Over the years, $2.7 million in

scholarships funding has been awarded.

Each year he saw the festival grow and improve, and with that the

number of volunteers increased.

“The volunteers are the life blood, I never worried about them

taking it anywhere [the proposed move to San Clemente], we have the

most loyal volunteers that have more pride in what they do,” Young

said.

He resigned for two months during the controversy, but the

volunteers and staff’s dedication changed his mind; and he returned.

“That’s what made me stick, I had never seen so many loyal people

in my life,” Young said. “It’s pay enough to watch their work and see

their pride.”

He also gives credit to pageant director Diane Challis Davy for

his longtime commitment.

“Dee has made my time here worth while,” Young said. “She is a gem

of a gal, and without question the best director we’ve ever had.”

In 1989, he helped establish the Festival of Arts Foundation, an

organization that underwrites art associations in Laguna Beach.

“The Festival of Arts and the foundation average about $100,000 a

year [[in scholarships] to Laguna Beach High School grads,” Young

said.

He talked about the significant revenue and contribution the

festival and pageant has given over the years, not only in money, but

how it has changed lives in Laguna -- and has helped put Laguna on

the map as a premier artist colony.

Tiner, chair of the Laguna Beach High School art department,

expressed his enthusiasm for the nomination for outstanding educator.

“All this recognition is kind of overwhelming,” Tiner said. “I’ve

been teaching for 22 years and teaching in Laguna Beach for 14

years.”

Tiner is a class of 1968 graduate of the high school.

“I think the main reason I am being recognized is that I am so

much a part of the community, bringing all the resources to my

classes -- artists, photographers, website designer,” Tiner said.

He said another reason for his nomination is his dedication to his

students.

“For me giving back to this new generation of future artists is

the most important thing,” Tiner said.

Higuchi, marketing and public relations director for the festival,

has been nominated for her volunteerism and generous service to the

arts.

“In my opinion, Laguna Beach is synonymous for arts community,”

Higuchi said, “It is what this community is all about and what it is

built on. There are many beautiful beach cities on the California

Coast, but not many of them are recognized for its art on an

international level.”

She talked about Laguna’s dedication to the arts and youth

education.

“I work for one (the Festival of Arts) and volunteer my time to

the others through the Laguna Beach Alliance for the Arts, simply

because I believe the arts are important to society.”

She said that it is her privilege to support these organizations

and to work cooperatively with many of the art leaders and

visionaries, naming the city’s cultural arts manager Sian Poeschl, as

one.

“To be nominated by peers for an Arts Orange County award means

more to me than winning the award,” Higuchi said.