Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center to host “Mask-A-Rad” Halloween Bash 

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(left) Ron Garrett, CEO and founder of AlertTheGlobe.com, and Rick Conkey, director of the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center, at the organization’s Forest Avenue location. Photo courtesy of Rick Conkey

The Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center (LBCAC) will host its first annual “Mask-A-Rad” Halloween Bash fundraiser from 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the seaside Moss Point Estate in South Laguna.

Ryan Heflin & Band and “Laguna Tenor,” Rick Weber, will perform. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the costume and mask contests, as well as an art-inspired silent auction. Proceeds will benefit the LBCAC to realize its vision of creating an accessible and affordable epicenter for art in Laguna Beach.

“We’re on a tipping point and after this event we’re going to be able to get over this hill,” center executive director Rick Conkey said Tuesday. “We don’t want to spread this [fundraising] across another two years.”

The “Mask-A-Rad” event is the LBCAC’s first major fundraiser since COVID-19 restrictions came down in March 2020. Since that time, the arts community was one of the hardest hit industries. According to the federal government’s Recovery Support Function Leadership Group, “The experiential and in-person nature of the arts—whether visual arts, music, dance, or numerous other mediums—has made it especially difficult to sustain, as many venues have remained closed, or on limited operations.”

The LBCAC has taken advantage of this “downtime” to improve its venue on the Forest Avenue Promenade, including improved air circulation, reconfigured seating, and hand sanitizer stations. The LBCAC is committed to offering events that are comfortable and safe for all attendees, Conkey said.

Where more establishing arts organizations like Laguna Art Museum and Festival of Arts focus on visual artists, the Cultural Arts Center offers a platform for film, musicians, performing arts, and a community TV station. Laguna Beach should strive to foster all of these mediums, Conkey said.

Earlier this year Conkey applied to the City for a $25,000 cultural arts grant but ultimately received $4,000. Packing the the Oct. 30 event will be critical to preventing the Center’s Forest Avenue location from reverting back to a vacant office space.

Purchase tickets to the “Mask-a-rad” fundraiser for $125 each or a table of 10 for $1,000.

The public is also invited to donate to LBCAC via its GoFundMe page if they can’t attend. Reserve the LBCAC for your private event, volunteer your time and/or skills. For more details email [email protected].

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