Our Laguna: Celebrities flock to sold-out Pageant gala

The Festival of Arts wound up the 2009 season Monday, the 11th straight year of sell-out performances of the Pageant of the Masters.

“It was a particularly elegant show this year,” festival board member Anita Mangels said Saturday at the Gala Benefit dinner and performance. “We have gotten nothing but raves.”

The sold-out gala raised almost $240,000 to benefit the festival’s building fund to improve the facility.

Festivities began with the arrival of celebrities on the red carpet. Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated actress Angela Bassett hosted the gala.

The celebs included Laguna’s own Eve Plumb and Richie Sambora. Plumb starred as Jan on “The Brady Bunch” and locally on the Design Review Board.

Sambora, lead guitarist with the wildly popular rock band Bon Jovi, said he fell in love with Laguna in 1988.

“I bought Ricky Nelson’s old home, but now I have a new place,” Sambora said.

Not that Sambora gets to spend much time there.

“Last year, we had the biggest tour ever — bigger than Madonna — and this year we are going on the road for 135 days,” Sambora said.

Festival staffer Pam Peterson had the pleasure of escorting Sambora around the grounds.

Joe Montegna, who stars in “Criminal Minds” doesn’t need an escort. He has been a regular at the gala for years. This time, he brought his daughter, Gia, whose film and television credits include “13 Going on 30,” “Medium,” as well as “Criminal Minds;” and for good measure the whole starring cast of the show: Paget Brewster, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Matthew Gray Gubler and Shemar Moore.

Moore walked the red carpet with a cane, and Gubler swung along on crutches.

“I got hit by a car; he was injured on a dance floor,” Moore said.

Coastline Pilot City Editor Cindy Frazier was delighted to be seated with Vangsness, one of her favorite actresses, who plays computer/tech genius Penelope Garcia on “Criminal Minds.”

Carey Conklin of Rohrer Gallery and Jan and festival Treasurer Fred Sattler were also at the table.

High profile attorney Gloria Allred and her gala guest, Fern Brown Caplan, actor Joshua Malina and his wife, Melissa, local Realtor Gayle Waite and Friends of the Library and Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. President Martha Lydick sat at Mangels’ table.

Malina played the sweetie Will Bailey on “The West Wing,” a role ideally suited to him — or one he has perfected in real life.

The conversations ranged from the Octo-Mom case in which Allred represents Paul Peterson, a former child star who advocates for child actors, to the 1993 fire that destroyed Lydick’s first home in Laguna and Melissa Malina’s childhood home, leaving both wary of fire.

Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Pearson and her date, Don Neff, were seated with Carol and Joseph Sabatini. Michelle and Mayor Kelly Boyd sat with Elisa Donovan, who played Morgan in the television show, “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” and Donna Mills, the femme fatale on “Knott’s Landing,” who recently came out with a line of makeup.

Mark Porterfield, head of the PIMCO Foundation, also attended the gala. The foundation is the charitable arm of PIMCO, an institutional asset management company, which gave financial support to the Junior Art Exhibit and the first-ever medal presentation.

Arts Commission Chairwoman and festival board member Pat Kollenda attended with her husband, Jim.

Tickets for the seated dinner at Tivoli Terrace and show were $350. The red carpet was rolled out for them at 5 p.m. Tickets for the show and hors d’oeuvres served on the grounds were $50 to $150, depending on the seats. Musical entertainment was provided by Greg Vail.

Festival exhibitors donated works for a silent auction and VITI Artesian Waters donated a trip to Fiji as the opportunity prize.

The audience was welcomed to the gala performance of “The Muse” by festival board President Wayne Baglin.

Baglin lauded the efforts of the staff and expressed the festival’s gratitude to sponsors who generosity was especially appreciated in these troubled economic times and the volunteers, who make the show possible.

Director Diane Challis Davy outdid herself, according to Baglin.

“Dee has put on the best show built around a theme that I have ever seen,” Baglin said.

Challis Davy said concerns about the economy’s effect on the festival prompted an unusually large response to the annual call for volunteers.

“We really are a family,” she said. “The cast and the crew are devoted to the success of the pageant.”

More than 530 volunteers participated in the 2009 show, with 135 on the stage for the gala performance and as many backstage. Baglin said.

“The Muse” had 20 vignettes and featured the most nudes ever in a pageant.

Even before the gala, Challis Davy was at work on next year’s show. It is a year-round effort.

“The Research Committee had its first meeting on [Aug. 23],” board member Ann Webster said. “The theme is ‘Eat, Drink and Be Merry.’ Four of us are pulling for Renoir’s ‘Boating Party,’ but it’s huge.”

Just days after the gala, Marketing and Public Relations Director Sharbie Higuchi was designing the logo and brochure for the 2010 show.

The pageant’s SRO season was something of a surprise considering the economy, and some of the exhibitors also had unexpectedly good years.

“I actually had a better year than last year,” said Hedy Buzan. “And I was not the only one. Interestingly, people were buying unique things, compared to multiples. I sold two four-by-six paintings.

“Of course, my price point is lower than most.”

Michael Hermann and Gina Lunn, who collaborate on art glass pieces, also beat last year — perhaps due to a better location on the grounds. 2008 was their first year in the show and as is the custom for rookies, they were assigned to a less visible booth along the front fence.

Their work includes vases, wall pieces, lamps and stunning stemmed glasses.

“Michael won the Niche Award for goblets in 2008 before we became partners,” Lunn said.

Hand-crafted furniture maker Randy Bader said his sales were better than he expected, although not as good as he hoped.

“I was amazed considering the economy,” Bader said.

Other celebrities on the guest list included Florence Henderson, who played Plumb’s mom on “The Brady Bunch” and Christopher Knight, who played Peter Brady; Kathleen Bradley, who appeared on “The Price is Right” for 10 years and wrote a book about it; Chase Masterson, Leeta on “Star Trek Deep Space Nine”; Blair Underwood of L.A. Law”; Charles Shaughnessy, “Mad Men”; and LaVar Burton, whose career was launched when he played Kunta Kinte in “Roots” and then spent 20 years launched in space, playing Lt. Commander Giordi LaForge on the Star Trek franchise.

Also: Adrienne Curry, who beat out 32,000 hopefuls to become the first “America’s Next Top Model”; Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers, of “Leave it to Beaver”; Iva Franks, recently seen as Sharon in “Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job”; Chip and Kim McAllister, $1 million winners on “The Amazing Race”; and Mitchel Musso, who plays Oliver Oken on “Hannah Montana.”

Gala sponsors included KOST 103.5 FM, the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Time Warner Cable, Orange County Register, Cox Communications, Kendall-Jackson Estate Wines and Montage Resort & Spa.

OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; call (949) 380-4321 or e-mail coastlinepilot@latimes.com