Festival of the Arts (California)

The Sawdust Art Festival, also known as The Sawdust or The Sawdust Festival, is an art festival held annually from late June through August in Laguna Beach, California. The festival features handicrafts as well as traditional fine art. It is non-juried, but exhibitors are required to be Laguna Beach residents. About 200,000 visitors attend each year. The Sawdust also hosts an annual Winter Fantasy art fair in mid-November through December, which is open to non-resident exhibitors.

The Lynn Theatre is a historic former movie theater on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California, United States. Walter J. Saunders of W. J. Saunders & Son designed the original structure. The Lynn opened in 1922 as a replacement for a former venue of the same name. An extensive renovation in 1935 introduced a new Mediterranean Revival style facade designed by James Neil Conway. The Lynn remained in operation under the founding family until the 1970s when Pacific Theatres acquired it. In 1976, the venue's single auditorium was split into two. Edwards Theatres and Regency Theatres later operated the Lynn until its closure in 2015. At the time, it was the only remaining movie theater in Laguna Beach. In 2023, the Lynn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and acquired by car manufacturer Rivian to be converted into a showroom.

St. Francis by-the-Sea American Catholic Church (St. Francis Cathedral Chapel; American Catholic Church) is a historic church in Laguna Beach, California, United States. It was built in 1934 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It now houses the National Sick Call Set Museum. It was designed by English-born Percy Wise Clarkson (1875-1942), who was also the founder and first bishop of the church. He was an Episcopal priest but left the priesthood in 1928. He became a bishop in the American Catholic Church in 1933. He also built the first Episcopal church in Laguna Beach, a small chapel which served as a summer chapel in the 1920s, also named St. Francis by-the-Sea.

Laguna Canyon, also called Cañada de las Lagunas (Spanish for 'Canyon of the Lakes'), is a gorge that cuts through the San Joaquin Hills in southern Orange County, California, in the United States, directly south of the city of Irvine. The canyon runs from northeast to southwest, and is drained on the north side by tributaries of San Diego Creek and on the south by Laguna Canyon Creek. It is deeper and more rugged on the southwestern end near Laguna Beach. Geologically, the canyon likely originated millions of years ago as the result of San Diego Creek cutting through the San Joaquin Hills. Uplift diverted that stream to its present course, leaving Laguna Canyon as a wind gap. California State Route 133 runs the entire length of the canyon connecting Laguna Beach and Irvine, while California State Route 73 crosses it, running southeast–northwest. A majority of the canyon is located within the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park; small portions are part of Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park and the cities of Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods and Aliso Viejo.

The Laguna Art Museum (LAM) is a museum located in Laguna Beach, California, on Pacific Coast Highway. LAM exclusively features California art and is the oldest cultural institution in the area. It has been known as the Laguna Beach Art Association, as well as the Laguna Beach Museum of Art.

Fahrenheit 451 Books was a bookstore, formerly located on 509 South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California. It was described by the Los Angeles Times as a "literary landmark" of the region. It closed in 1994.

Laguna Beach High School is a 4-year public high school located in Laguna Beach, California. It is the only high school in the Laguna Beach Unified School District. It was established in 1934 and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

The Café Frankenstein was a coffee house in Laguna Beach, California, United States.From 1958-62, the Café Frankenstein was seen as sort of a "den of iniquity" amongst the semi-conservative Orange County, California art community of Laguna Beach. Located at 860 South Pacific Coast Highway, Cafe Frankenstein boasted a steady diet of beats, surfers, folkies, teens and all manner of weirdos, and was suspected of harboring drugs and other debauchery. For two years straight, a pair of undercover cops were regulars at the Frankenstein, looking for a bust. But according to the last owner, Michael Schley, they instead became avid supporters. Artists Burt Shonberg, Doug Myres (the Gateway Singers) and writer George Clayton Johnson (Twilight Zone, Logan's Run) were the proprietors. Shonberg provided a Frankenstein stained-glass window and cubist mural art for the club. Shonberg also painted murals for Hollywood's Purple Onion, Cosmo Alley, the Bastille, the Seven Chef's and Pandora's Box, as well as advertising art for Fairfax Avenue's Sandalsville, Don Brown's local surf movie events and a coterie of album covers (including Arthur Lee & Love's 1969 LP Out Here). The Frankenstein had a bookstore inside, specializing in banned books. There was a sandal shop in the back, as well. Sid Soffer managed the Café Frankenstein from 1958–59, before starting his own beat café, Sid's Blue Beet (Newport Beach).

Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) is a private college in Laguna Beach, California. With an enrollment of more than 700 students, the college offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in 11 majors and three Master of Fine Arts degree programs as well as a post-baccalaureate certificate program in Drawing and Painting. LCAD has an affiliate arrangement with the Florence Academy of Art for summer study in Florence, Italy for class credit. Similar arrangements for Painting and Drawing majors exist with the Art Students League, and for Game Art majors with the Academy for Digital Entertainment at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. In Graphic Design, an association was created in 2011 with the Communication University of China, Beijing. Since 2014, the college has partnered with Vermont College of Fine Arts on a BFA/MAT dual degree program.

Laguna Beach (; Laguna, Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Located in Southern California along the Pacific Ocean, this seaside resort city has a mild year-round climate, scenic coves, and environmental preservation efforts. The population in the 2020 census was 23,032.Historically settled by Paleoindians, the Tongva people, and then Mexico, the location became part of the United States following the Mexican–American War. Laguna Beach was settled in the 1870s, officially founded in 1887, and in 1927 its current government was incorporated as a city. The city adopted the council–manager form of government in 1944. The city has remained relatively isolated from urban encroachment by its surrounding hills, limited highway access, and dedicated greenbelt. The Laguna Beach coastline is protected by 5.88 miles (9.46 km) of state marine reserve and an additional 1.21 miles (1.95 km) of state conservation area.Tourism is the primary industry with an estimated six million people visiting the community annually. Large annual events include the Pageant of the Masters, Festival of Arts, Sawdust Art Festival, Art-A-Fair, Bluewater Music Festival, and Kelpfest.

The 1993 Laguna Fire or Laguna Canyon Fire was a destructive wildfire in Orange County, California. After igniting on October 27, the fire burned more than 16,000 acres (6,500 hectares) and destroyed hundreds of homes before it was contained on October 31. The fire caused $528 million in damages, becoming one of the most costly fires in U.S. history. It was part of a larger outbreak of wildfires that week in Southern California, driven by Santa Ana winds.

The Top of the World Reservoir, officially the Richard Jahraus Top of the World Reservoir is an artificial lake in Laguna Beach, California. Dedicated on October 27, 1996, it was named after J. Richard Jahraus, the current Director and President of the Laguna Beach County Water District at the Time. It has a capacity of 3,000,000 US gal (2,500,000 imp gal). Its main use is to supply water for authorities to fight against wildfires, with the high elevation allowing water circulation despite power outages. The lake is underground in a tank, below the Alta Laguna Park.