Laguna Beach Garden Club is gearing up for its popular Gate & Garden Tour on Saturday, May 4.
The annual event, which has sold out for three years in a row, features a thoughtful curation of Laguna Beach’s unique neighborhood gardens, all conveniently within walking distance of each other.
“We usually choose a cluster of homes in one neighborhood,” said Karen Nelson, who co-directs the tour. “It’s in North Laguna this year on the tree streets. And there are some pretty spectacular ones. There are some quaint ones. We try to pick a different slice of Laguna Beach every year. Also, we want it to be accessible to as many people as possible. So the walking part of it, which is four-tenths of a mile, is all downhill. So anybody can do it.”
Before the tour, participants gather at the Laguna Beach Water District, located at 306 Third Street. There, Cinco de Mayo festivities will be in full effect, with artisan margaritas, Mexican food, free spectacular homemade baked goods and refreshments, and exciting raffle prizes from local artists and businesses available before and after the tour.
“It’s a full-on party,” Laguna Beach Garden Club President Jane Leary said. And we have a whole bunch of really great raffle prizes—amazingly generous raffle prizes. Participants can have food and drink there and learn about the club. The Water District always has a booth where they give away a lot of free stuff. It’s just so much fun.”
While at the Water District, attendees can check out Matt Willey’s recently completed bee mural, which engages citizens in the movement to save pollinators.
Last Tuesday, the City of Laguna proclaimed the first Saturday in May “Laguna Bee Day” in honor of the garden club’s new mural. The day was specifically chosen to coincide with the Gate & Garden tour and mural unveiling earlier this month at the club’s host venue.
Depending on their ticketed entry time, garden enthusiasts will go by shuttle to the first garden and return to the Water District once the tour is completed. Entry times for the tour start at 10 a.m. and run hourly until the last tour sets off at 2 p.m.
Participants are encouraged to come adorned with their best garden party hat for a chance to be entered into the popular Garden Party Hat Contest.
“We had over 125 people show up with hats last year,” Nelson said. “We take pictures of them for a contest, and the mayor and other water district officials give out the prize at the end of the event. People get into it. To me, the tableau of people walking around with all those fancy hats makes it even more special.”
The Gate & Garden Tour proceeds go to the Garden Club’s outreach projects, such as school gardens, scholarships, community education and beautification projects in Laguna Beach and beyond. The tour is the club’s biggest fundraiser.
Garden Club meetings are held on the second Friday of the month from September – May in Tankersley Hall at Laguna Presbyterian Church, 415 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach.
More information, including ticket purchases, can be found at lagunabeachgardenclub.org.
