Roundup:Gain artist insight at tour

The City of Laguna Beach Arts Commission and Cultural Arts Department are planning for the second annual Public Art Tour Day, from 2 to 5 p.m. April 22.

The tour includes sights of the city’s public art collection — and insights into the artists who created them.

Docent-led trolley and walking tours will leave the Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, every 30 minutes starting at 2 p.m.

The event is hosted by the Laguna Art Museum, who will also provide docent tours of its current exhibition.

Following the tour at 5 p.m. will be an artist reception with guest speakers John Barber, Louis Longi and Terry Thornsley who will present their newly approved public art commissions.

The artists will present their creative process for sculptures to be installed at the new maintenance yard and public parking facility on Laguna Canyon Road and at Crescent Bay Point Park.

The Public Art Tour Day is free and funding for this program has been provided by the lodging establishments and the City of Laguna Beach.

Parking will be provided at the Lumberyard parking lot at 521 Forest Ave., with a free shuttle to the Laguna Art Museum.

For more information, call (949) 497-0722.

Miller Garden begins ‘Coffee Mornings’

The third annual “Coffee Mornings” brunch series will begin Saturday, April 14, at the Hortense Miller garden in Boat Canyon. The brunches take place from 9 a.m. to noon and are limited to 25 participants. Reservations are required.

Held in the garden, there will be special tours of the house and garden followed by a home-cooked brunch served by the board of directors.

In the last year, the garden has been improved with an extra water tank, a new pump, and an automated sprinkler system.

The other dates are May 12 and June 9.

Suggested donations are $50 per person with all of the proceeds going directly for rehabilitation and maintenance of this 50-year-old garden.

For reservations, call Elizabeth at (949) 715-3576.

Earth Day events sponsored by local group

The second annual Earth Day beach/canyon/hill cleanup and Main Beach Environmental Fair will take place from 8 a.m. to noon on April 21, sponsored by HelpBlueWater.com.

The cleanups will take place at Main Beach and Aliso Beach. Several other beaches, trails and canyon areas in Laguna Beach will feature check-in stations where volunteers can receive bags, gloves and sign a liability release form from 8 to 11 a.m.

Cleanup check-n station locations will be posted on the www.HelpBlueWater.com website before the event.

Volunteers are needed to act as dispensing station coordinators at the designated sites. If interested, call (949) 281-6850 or e-mail volunteer@helpbluewater.com.

The event will feature fun and creative ideas and contests for both kids and adults from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Artists and musicians (unamplified), along with educators, historians, and nonprofit organizations are invited to join in.

Tickets for the Laguna Beach Club M Concert on April 22 will be free to those who participate in the cleanup effort and environmental fair on April 21.

Tickets can be purchased at the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce 257 Glenneyre St. (under the library), Marvy Starr, 658 South Coast Highway., and at the Mail Stop, 1278 Glenneyre St. (at Cress Street).

For more information, to volunteer or donate contact HelpBlueWater.com at (949) 281-6850, or info@helpbluewater.com or visit www.helpbluewater.com.

Village Laguna holds ‘Charm’ tour in May

The annual Village Laguna Charm House Tour is planned for May 20.

The 2007 Charm House Tour will be in South Laguna this year and includes a very contemporary home, an oceanfront home, and the Rust House, where owner Paul Muñoz collaborated with architect Ted Wells, past president of the Society of Architectural Historians.

Since all the homes are in South Laguna, the tour will be staged from the Rust House which is next to the South Coast Medical Center at 31872 Coast Highway.

Buses will leave continuously from the Rust House next to the hospital starting at noon. Buses will circulate among the homes and return. The last bus departs at 3:30 p.m. and homes are closed for viewing at 6 p.m.

Village Laguna regrets that the Charm House Tour cannot accommodate children nor those requiring handicapped-accessibility.

Buses transport participants to each home but walking and stair climbing are required. High heeled shoes and the use of cameras or cell phones inside the homes are not permitted.

The tour can be completed at one’s own pace and normally takes two to three hours.

Tickets are $38 each pre-sale, and $45 on the day of the event, if still available. Tickets can be obtained by writing Village Laguna, P.O. Box 1309, Laguna Beach 92652 or going online at www.VillageLaguna.org.

Additional information can be obtained by calling (949) 472-7503.

Grief classes offered at Presbyterian church

Laguna Presbyterian Church welcomes everyone who has lost a loved one through death to an eight-week support group/class facilitated by licensed therapist, Jackie Pearson.

The class begins Monday, April 16 from 4-5:30 p.m. in the church parlor.

This eight-week group, using “The Grief Recovery Handbook,” offers a path of specific actions needed to complete the grieving process and accept the loss of a loved one through death.

A $20 materials fee is due when participants register in the office between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. To register or ask a question about the program, contact the church office at (949) 494-7555. Registration is due before April 9. The church parlor is located at the left rear corner of the rose garden at the intersection of Forest and Second Avenues in Laguna Beach.