CITY FOCUS:Festival applauds 75 years

The Festival of Arts honored two men and the City of Laguna Beach Sunday for their early and lasting contributions that have brought millions of people and dollars to Laguna Beach.

Plaques honoring James Irvine, Roy Ropp and the city were unveiled at a ceremony Sunday at Irvine Bowl Park to kick off the Festival of Arts 75th Anniversary season.

“We wanted to take a moment to recognize the Irvine and Roth families and the city that made the jewel that is the Festival grow and thrive into this radiant facility,” festival President Anita Mangels said.

Irvine deeded the land on which the public park and amphitheater named for him stands.

Ropp — considered to be the father of the pageant — turned a ragtag parade of pictures into a stage presentation in 1935; the city is the festival’s landlord.

“My grandfather would have loved this,” said Joan Irvine Smith. “He was an artist. He did pen and ink drawings that have all disappeared now, but I remember seeing them as a child.”

Smith donated signed copies of her latest book, “A California Woman’s Story,” to the festival for fundraising.

“It tells a little bit about the gift,” Irvine said.

Mangels described the festival as a three-legged stool — the creativity of the staff and volunteers, the structures on the grounds, and the city.

“We may sit on the land, but the city owns it,” Mangels said. “For the most part, it has been a marvelous relationship that grows stronger every day.”

For one stretch, starting in the late 1990s and running through 2002, the city and the festival were at odds — in acrimonious negotiations on a new lease that went on before and after an attempt to move the festival to San Clemente and the ouster by a rebellious membership of the board that proposed the move.

Festival officials wanted a big reduction in the annual rent, which had been used to pay off the bond that bought Main Beach. The new lease was for a much smaller amount, with a percentage of annual proceeds dedicated to rehabilitation of the grounds and buildings.

“The festival is the foundation of the art community in Laguna Beach,” Iseman said on behalf of the city. “When you sit in the Irvine Bowl you get a sense of the natural beauty of Laguna. We can only imagine what it was like 100 years ago.”

Speaking to the festival members clustered around the wall where the new plaques were installed, Iseman said, “You are so lucky to have Anita. She is as smart as they come, tough as nails and nobody wants to mess with her.”

Mangels presented Iseman and Smith with commemorative glass pieces created by festival artist Jude Taylor-Darlin. None of the Ropp family attended the ceremony.

“Together, those who came before have seen the Festival through the Great Depression, a world war, lean and bountiful economic cycles, and major cultural changes,” Mangels said. “On behalf of the current board, staff, exhibitors and volunteers it is our pledge to you that we will honor their example as we look forward to nurturing and protecting the festival and the pageant with reverence for our past and renewed creative inspiration as we move forward.”

The re-dedication ceremony preceded the annual membership luncheon, held at Tivoli Terrace.

Retired board members David Young and Bob Henry were lauded at the luncheon by Mangels, who also announced the formation of the Diamond Club — named for the gem that represents 75 years.

Membership is limited to 75, for a donation of $7,500.

However, the theme of the 2007 pageant will be “Young at Heart.”

The show will be performed nightly from July 7 through Aug. 25, at 650 Laguna Canyon Rd.

For more information, visit www.LagunaFestivalofArts.com or call (949) 497-6852 or toll free, (800) 487-3378.