Final weekend for art festivals The Festival...

Final weekend for art festivals

The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters closed yesterday

while the Sawdust Art Festival and Art-a-Fair will run through

Sunday.

Sawdust entertainment highlights: today, Santa Claus will visit

the Sawdust from 10 a.m. to noon. Lisa Haley and the Zydekatz will

perform Cajun and zydeco from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Saturday the “Art on Stage” game show will be from 4 to 5:30 and

World Anthem will perform reggae from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Sunday local favorite Missiles of October will perform rock and

roll from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Sawdust Art Festival’s winter art show “Winter Fantasy” will

be on Nov. 10, 19, 25, 26, 27 and Dec. 3, 4, 10 and 11.

The Sawdust is at 935 Laguna Canyon Road. For information, call

(949)494-3030.

Art-a-Fair is at 777 Laguna Canyon Road. For information, call

(949) 494-4514.

Sawdust artists pick favorites

The Sawdust Art Festival’s 212 artists evaluated each other’s work

and voted for the best artists at the festival in each medium.

Sculptor Dion Wright won Best Artist Overall.

First place winners for each medium were: John Barber, glass;

Michele Taylor, art glass design, mixed media; Walter Reiss,

ceramics; Olivia Batchelder and Edith Otto, (tie) clothing and

textiles; Ray Caruso, scrimshaw, diverse media; Don Beres, jewelry;

Scott Moore, painting; Susan Dysinger and Julita Jones, (tie)

printmaking; Mike Kelly, photography; and James Koch, sculpture.

Katlin Evans, painting, tied for first place for Best New Artist

with Jessica DeStefano, sculpture and mixed media; Rob Gage,

photography and Erik Konicki, mixed media.

Bluebird Park concerts continue

Sunday marks the seventh concert of the eight-week season of the

2005 Summer Concert Series with Soundbytes playing soul and popular

music for the final Bluebird Park concert from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday. On

Sept. 11, the concert moves to Riddle Field, with Savor playing

Santana’s best from 4 to 6 p.m.

Concerts are free. Information, call (949) 497-0722.

City hosts annual Palette Competition

The City’s Arts Commission is holding its annual holiday Palette

Competition. Artists are provided with a prepared 4-by-3-foot wooden

palette to paint original artwork. The completed palettes are

displayed throughout the city during the holiday season.

Entries will be accepted from Laguna Beach residents, artists

having a studio in Laguna Beach or showing in a Laguna Beach gallery,

students attending Laguna Beach schools, Laguna College and artists

exhibiting in Laguna’s festivals.

Submit a horizontal palette design on 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper, in color, within the border of a palette outline. Include the palette

indent as integral to the design.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Oct. 7. Entrees need to be delivered to

Cultural Arts Manager Sian Poeschl at 505 Forest Ave. Entrees will be

judged by the commission based on creativity and appropriateness.

Honorarium is $300 for each selected design. For information, call

(949) 497-0722.

Comedy workshop ready to laugh it up

Stand-up comic, producer and talent booker Lynn Epstein will be

teaching a Comedy Writing and Performance Workshop for adults and

teens 16 and older from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 10, 17 and Oct.

1, 8 and 15.

Learn how to write original comedy, perform on stage and get

booked. Classes culminate in a Comedy Night Showcase Oct. 19 with

students’ original performances. Class fee is $200. Class size is

limited. For information, e-mail o7lynnsfunny@earthlink.netf7. or

go online to o7https://www.lynnepstein.com.f7

Concert to benefit ocean awareness

Blue Water is presenting “Common Sense” an ocean awareness

concert, commemorating the lives lost on Sept. 11 at Moss Point from

4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 11. The event will feature Common Sense, Brett

Dennen, Evren Ozan and more. Tickets are $75 VIP, $30 for adults, $20

for students and $15 for kids 12 and under. A portion of the proceeds

will be donated to Surfrider and ocean-related nonprofits. For

tickets call (949) 842-2260 or e-mail bluewaterevents@yahoo.com.

Center sponsors a sunset cruise benefit

Join Pacific Marine Mammal Center and the Orange County Parrot

Head Club for a sunset cruise fundraiser for the marine mammal center

at Newport Harbor aboard the Phoenix, featuring food, cocktails, live

music by Unkle Monkey, dancing under the stars, a silent auction and

opportunity drawing tickets.

The benefit sets sail from 5:30 p.m. for boarding and runs from 6

to 9 p.m. Sept. 15 aboard The Phoenix (docked at Balboa Fun Zone,

just east of Balboa Pier.) Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the

door.

Make reservations in advance, space is limited. Must be 18 and

older. Send checks to PMMC, 20612 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach,

CA 92651 or call (949) 494-3050

Club Django to perform

Laguna Beach Live! presents the gypsy jazz music of Club Django

from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 15. Club Django is Southern California’s

foremost proponent of the music of the Belgian born gypsy guitarist,

Django Reinhardt, who developed his own style of swing music. $10

cover charge; wines by the glass and tapas available for purchase.

The group will perform at the Rose Garden of the Hotel Laguna, 425 S.

Coast Highway. Information: (949) 715-9713.

Splash fundraiser set for Sept. 24

Aids Services Foundation 20th annual Slash extravaganza

“Splashback to The Starlite Drive-In” is a double feature with

tickets available for a sneak preview event starting at 7 p.m. with

the show at 8 p.m. Sept. 23 and the main event from 6 to 11 p.m.

Sept. 24.

On Festival of Arts grounds, glitz and gla.m.our will join forces

to make the biggest splash in Aids Services Foundation 20 year

history. Cocktails, casino ga.m.es and “The Route 66 Silent Auction”

will all lead to dinner al fresco followed by the new, must-see

high-energy musical production co-chaired by Aids Services board

members Ken Jillson, Jorge Rodriguez, M.D. and Judy Fluor-Runels. “

“It will be very ‘A.m.ericana,’ right down to the drive-in movie,”

Jillson said.

Tickets are $50 and $100 for reserved seating for the sneak

preview Sept. 23. Tickets to the main event “Splashback to The

Starlite Drive-In” Sept. 24 are $250 for individuals with donor

progra.m.s ranging from $1,200 to $25,000 for 12 VIP guests.

Festival of Arts is at 650 Laguna Canyon Road. For donor

progra.m.s or tickets, call Mary Landon at (949) 809-8760.

Evening to benefit homeless program

The Friendship Shelter, an Orange County adult homeless

rehabilitation program and emergency shelter, is joining forces with

Luther Hughes and The Cannonball/Coltrane Project for “Jazz by the

Sea in Laguna” at the Madison Square & Garden Cafe from 6 to 9 p.m.

Sept. 25.

The evening will include a New Orleans-style menu, hosted wine bar

and silent auction. Tickets are $100 for individuals and $180 per

couple. Proceeds will support the Friendship Shelter’s progra.m.s.

Madison Square & Garden Cafe is at 320 North Coast Highway. For

reservations, call Jennifer Miller at (949) 494-6928 ext. 14 or

online at www.friendshipshelter.org.