IN THE ARTS

Lagunatunes holds free holiday concert

Lagunatunes Community Chorus will be presenting its free annual holiday concert, “Holiday Harmony,” at 5 p.m. Sunday in Bridge Hall at Neighborhood Congregational Church, 340 St. Ann’s Drive, Laguna Beach.

Lagunatunes Community Chorus, under the dual direction of Christin Cornell and Pat Kollenda, will present a merry mix of both classical and contemporary holiday favorites, including Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” “O Magnum Misterium” and the “Hallelujah Chorus,” contrasted against “Christmas on Broadway,” “White Christmas” and the “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies.”

The program will also feature the group’s chamber singers.

Chorale concert planned Dec. 14

The Laguna Beach Chorale will present a concert with orchestra at 2 p.m. Dec. 14 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 428 Park Ave., Laguna Beach.

Works include Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” selections by John Rutter; “Ave Maria” by Franz Biebl, and others. Vocal soloists include Suzi Charlton. Mari Haig will be featured in a Resphigi arrangement of the Vitali Chaconne for violin, with organ and strings.

Admission is $15; $10 for students and seniors. Child care provided.

For more information, call Dan Resch at (949) 218-0973.

Festival posters at Wells Fargo

A retrospective of Festival of Arts annual posters from the past 21 years is on display at Wells Fargo Bank, 260 Ocean Ave., through January 9. Over the years many images for posters have been produced for the purpose of highlighting the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.

Curator Pat Sparkuhl commented, “While organizing and installing the Festival of Arts Poster exhibit I was impressed with the uniqueness that each of the participating artists expressed through the artwork they created.”

The poster exhibit portrays not only the history of the Festival of Arts, but also that of Laguna Beach. Included are Armen Gasparian’s 1982 depiction of Crystal Cove and a more recent painting of the same subject matter by Michael Obermeyer and Jacobus.

Anyone wishing to purchase a Festival of Arts poster may visit the website at www.LagunaFestivalof Arts.org or call 949-464-4203 for more information. An online winter sale with all merchandise at 45% off runs through Jan. 31.

Art-A-Fair honored by business group

Art-A-Fair has been selected for a 2008 Best of Laguna Beach Award in the Associations category by the U.S. Local Business Assn.

The “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country.

The U.S. Local Business Assn. is a Washington D.C.-based organization funded by local businesses across America.

Hurlbut retires from Sawdust after 28 years

Longtime Sawdust Art Festival exhibitor Mary Hurlbut is retiring after 28 years as a stained glass artist, and she is celebrating her final year of exhibiting at this year’s annual Winter Fantasy show. In booth 242, the last of Hurlbut’s colorful handcrafted glass pieces are offered for sale.

Hurlbut grew up in Laguna Beach and began her career in stained glass shortly after graduating from the Dominican College in Marin County. Hurlbut was hired as an apprentice at a stained glass studio in the Bay Area, where she developed her skill as a stained glass artist.

Following her apprenticeship, she moved back to her hometown, met brass sculptor Spence Hurlbut, and married two years later. It was Spence Hurlbut who first encouraged her to join him in exhibiting at the Sawdust Art Festival where he had been selling his brass designs since 1971. In 1981, Mary Hurlbut participated in the Sawdust’s “booth picking day,” and was chosen 158th out of 160 exhibitors in the 15th annual summer show.

Since then both Hurlbuts exhibited several consecutive years at the Sawdust, until last summer when her husband retired from his creative career in brass sculpture. Now Hurlbut joins her husband in retirement from a long career in creating and exhibiting glass art at the Sawdust Art Festival.

“Having a career in art while being a full-time wife and mom has only been possible because of the Sawdust Art Festival,” she said.

After nearly 30 years of stained glass creation, Hurlbut has developed another passion: photography. After her mother gave her a digital SLR camera for her 50th birthday, she rediscovered the passion she felt when she first crafted stained glass. She plans to spend the next year honing her technical skills in photography.

For more information, visit www.sawdustartfestival.org or call (949) 494-3030.

Artists hold sale at Marsh Scott studio