Laguna Beach Local News

The Laguna Dance Festival will host its fall gala at 5 p.m. on Sept. 26, at Seven Degrees. “Hosting our gala, in-person, in Laguna Beach is a wonderful feeling,” said Jodie Gates, founder and artistic director of Laguna Dance Festival. “We’ve been working with the directors, dancers, and choreographers to...

Laguna Art Museum has recruited Victoria Zagarino Gerard for the new role of deputy director. Gerard mostly recently served as Vice President of Programs and Collections at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and brings 15 years of experience in museum management and exhibition development. She will assume her new...

Not even COVID-19 could stomp out the magical fairy dust at the Sawdust Art Festival. Toddlers, teenagers, and even some adults made their annual pilgrimage this summer to get a pinch of sparkle and borrow a pair of wings from the Fairy Booth, currently manned by Sawdust newcomers Kate Cleaves...

By Barbara McMurray, Special to the Independent Earlier this month, Tiffany Dnaka received a crushing blow. After graduating with a master’s degree and working in her chosen field for two years advocating for college students with special needs, her employer let her go. Picking herself up and dusting herself off,...

The Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach celebrated the talent and hard work of Orange County students at the annual Junior Art Awards Ceremony on Aug. 15. The 2021 Junior Art Exhibit winners were acknowledged, honored and presented with gold, silver, and bronze medallions and certificates. A jury made up of...

Laguna Beach Live! will present The Latin Jazz Syndicate, featuring Bijon Watson on trumpet and Adonis Puentes on vocals, on Sept. 23 at the Woman’s Club, 286 St, Ann’s Dr. The event runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m without intermission. There will be a cocktail hour prior to the concert with...

Laguna Beach Live! will return to the stage at the Promenade on Forest Avenue with Carol Roman from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 11. An accomplished pianist, educator, director and composer, Roman has directed and played for musical theater shows in greater Los Angeles. She has released four CDs,...

Laguna Playhouse plans to open its 100th season in October following an 18-month closure prompted by COVID-19 restrictions, the theater's management announced Monday. For its fall production, the Playhouse will raise the curtain for “Sh-Boom! Life Could be a Dream” on Oct. 13. Audiences will visit Springfield and meet the...

Chalk it up to faith, or Kobe Bryant or Astrid Chitamun of European Optical in Laguna Beach. Whatever the inspiration, graffiti artist Hung Tran’s mural of the tragically killed former Laker and his daughter Gianna on a wall on Cress Street transformed the artist from an ex-con to a...