Fired up for the weekend

SUZIE HARRISON

I have always loved fireworks. Laguna is among the top three I’ve

experienced -- they’re actually all tied for first.

In San Francisco I had the pleasure of watching from a boat in the

bay. We had great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city.

Vail is another prized place with three different shows on three

nights within a 10-mile radius. It’s breathtaking to see the

mountains highlighted in so many colors.

And then there’s Laguna. There are so many places to catch a view

of the different great shows all at once. Each year I’ve watched from

a different spot and have appreciated the lighting up of the

coastline while the waves rolled in.

In addition to the main event, the community will be ignited with

a plethora of art happenings, which will offer many oohs and ahhs.

SAWDUST ART FESTIVAL OPENS TODAY

Sawdust Art Festival Marketing and Community relations manager

Rebecca Meekma wanted me to remind everyone that the 38th annual art

festival opens today at 10 a.m. and will offer a special patriotic

concert by Laguna’s own Laguna Community Concert Band from 11 a.m. to

1 p.m. on Sunday. The Sawdust is at 935 Laguna Canyon Road and is

open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. except Sunday when it closes

at 6 p.m. For information, call (949) 494-3030 or online at

https://www.sawdustart

festival.org.

Festival of Arts opens Monday

Don’t get too tired out on the Fourth of July. You have to save

energy for the Festival of Arts, which opens the next day. I’d

suggest a day at the Sawdust on Sunday and then cozy up to the beach

and watch the fireworks and retire for the evening. And then on

Tuesday zip over to the Festival which opens at 10 a.m.

Laguna residents get in free every day with proper identification.

Check out the 140-something artists and their gorgeous original

works. There are always plenty of fun things going on there -- art

workshops, demonstrations, entertainment, etc. The festival is at 650

Laguna Canyon Road. For information, call (949) 494-1145 or online at https://www.lagunafestivalof

arts.org.

PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS OPENS WEDNESDAY

The world-renowned Pageant of the Masters will open Wednesday with

nightly shows at 8:30 p.m. It is the coolest show on earth, creating

living pictures of great works of art. It has to be seen to be

believed.

Director Dee Challis Davy has created another masterpiece with

this year’s show, “Portrait of the Artist.” The pageant is on the

Festival of Arts grounds at 650 Laguna Canyon Road at the Irvine

Bowl. For information, call (949) 494-1145 or online at https://www.lagunafestivalof

arts.org.

SURF CULTURE FLASHBACK AT LAM

In July of 2002, Laguna Art Museum opened the epic surf exhibit

“Surf Culture -- The Art History of Surfing,” a compendium of art and

surfing, in particular the works of artists who are surfers and the

influence art has had on surfing and vice versa.

After traveling the world for two years, a revamped, scaled down

version, “Surf Culture Redux,” opened Thursday and will run through

July 28.

The original version was the most well-attended show in the

museum’s history with a record 25,000 people checking it out in its

10-week run. It also made history at other venues.

The exhibit traces origins where the first novelty items of

surfing began with the Hawaiian tourist industry in the 20s and 30s

with souvenirs, surf-rider statuettes and surfboards.

“Surf Culture” traces the bold world of sports-related graphics

that brought change in the 1950s when an array of attention-grabbing

logos and shapes were born. It moves into the 1960s when political

events, surfing and art meshed.

HALF-PIPE AT LAM

Leave your skateboards at home but enjoy the unique

skate-influenced site-specific installation in the museum’s lobby now

through Tuesday.

“Halfpipe” is displayed on the roof of a 1985 Chevy van. The

project, by Los Angeles-based artists Matt Driggs’ and Joel Heflin’s,

consists of two arched halves and a flat bottom, which was created

and adapted to look into skateboarding as a direct influence from

surfing.

It’s another creative look at surfing’s influence -- techniques

originated on the ocean’s surface brought to land for land surfers.

I’m hoping that in the winter they’ll build a half-pipe with snow

and some boarders can do some tricks. But this is more SoCal

oriented.

Laguna Art Museum is at 307 Cliff Drive and is open daily from 11

a.m. to 5 p.m., including Monday holidays. For the skinny, call (949)

494-8971 or go to their website at https://www.lagunaart

museum.org.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at (949) 494-4321 or

suzie.harrison@latimes.com.