EDITORIAL: Festivals start on high note

Festival season is nearly upon us, as Laguna Beach’s “three big” festivals prepare for another summer of art and entertainment.

On Tuesday, Sawdust Art Festival holds its annual “invite-only” preview event “” with invitations sent to just about everyone in town. This is always a great kickoff to the summer for the local community, which gets to see the Sawdust’s exhibits and new arts and crafts offerings before the public, and to party with the always-interesting artistic crowd.

Art-A-Fair opens its doors Friday, with a Venetian theme that seems to be all the rage this year. It’s the 42nd year for both Sawdust and Art-A-Fair, which makes them among the longest-running arts festivals anywhere.

But even that longevity pales by comparison with the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters, the latter of which celebrates its 75th year in 2008. The Festival of Arts had its platinum anniversary in 2007.

The Festival of Arts throws open its doors July 6, followed on July 9 by the Pageant of the Masters, with a Shakespearean theme this year of “All the World’s a Stage.”

When the “big three” festivals start rolling, we can expect the daytime population of Laguna Beach to quadruple, but the good news is there are more parking spots this year for visitors, both downtown and in a new, free lot opening soon at South Coast Medical Center in South Laguna. Hopefully, visitors will take advantage of the remote parking to stash their vehicles while they ride the fun, breezy and free trolleys up and down Coast Highway and Canyon Road.

There is even more excitement in store for the local business community this year, with the Chamber of Commerce sponsoring a Renaissance Faire on July 7 in honor of the Pageant’s 75th birthday. Attendees are being encouraged to “dress the part,” and we hear that a troupe of professional entertainers have agreed to joust “” but not on horseback “” during the event in Medieval garb. For information on how to attend this special event, call the chamber at (949) 497-1018.

In short, there’s more than ever to enjoy this summer, for Lagunans and visitors alike.

Let the games begin!