A beach city located in southern Orange County,
approximately 24 miles southeast of downtown Santa Ana. The city's most famous
institution is the Festival of Arts, an annual art exhibition in the summer
that has given the city a reputation for being "artsy." Apart from
bringing together artists and art collectors, the Festival is also famous for
the Pageant of the Masters, an annual living statue show where local volunteers
reproduce several dozen famous artworks in an evening (with the help of
elaborate costumes and makeup). Another famous annual event is the Sawdust Art
Festival. Its summer art show features local artists exhibiting paintings,
appraisals, sculpture and fine craft in an artist village that is built each
year. Laguna Beach is the world mecca for skimboarding, the sport having been
invented by the town's lifeguards over half a century ago. The city also gained
some national exposure in 2004 as the setting for the MTV reality soap opera
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, now in its third season. |