The Aaronson Group
Luxury Coastal Real Estate – OC
Laguna Beach · Summer 2026
Where Art Comes Alive: The Pageant of the Masters and the Sawdust Art Festival
Every summer, Laguna Canyon becomes the center of the Southern California art world. A quiet stretch of road just above the coast fills with music, handmade work, and one of the most inventive stage productions in the country. Two events anchor the season, and together they capture what makes Laguna Beach unlike anywhere else on the coast.
Where the canyon meets the coast, art is not something you watch from a distance. It is something you walk through.
The Pageant of the Masters
Living Pictures Under the Stars
Now in its 93rd year, the Pageant of the Masters is one of the most remarkable things you will see anywhere. The production is built on tableaux vivants, or living pictures, in which real people pose inside re-creations of celebrated paintings and sculptures. The illusion is so precise that first-time guests often cannot tell there are performers on stage at all.
The 2026 production, titled The Greatest of All Time, asks a single question: which works and which artists deserve to be called the greatest in the history of art. Over roughly 90 minutes, about 40 masterpieces come to life under the stars, set to a live orchestra and original narration. This year’s lineup draws from Michelangelo, Diego Velázquez, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and Norman Rockwell.
Performances run nightly at the 2,600-seat Irvine Bowl amphitheater at 650 Laguna Canyon Road. Every Pageant ticket also includes free admission to the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show, an open-air gallery featuring more than 100 juried Orange County artists.
Pageant of the Masters – The Details
Dates
July 9 through September 4, 2026, nightly
Time
8:30 p.m., about 90 minutes
2026 Theme
The Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T.)
Location
Irvine Bowl, 650 Laguna Canyon Road
Reserve seats and view the full 2026 schedule at the Festival of Arts box office.
The Sawdust Art Festival
A Handcrafted Village Beneath the Eucalyptus
A short walk down the same canyon road, the Sawdust Art Festival celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2026. Set beneath eucalyptus trees on sawdust-covered paths, the festival is a handcrafted village of more than 180 artists, all of them Laguna Beach residents. Nothing here is mass-produced. Every piece is made and sold by the person who created it, which makes the Sawdust one of the few festivals of its kind in the country.
Visitors can watch glassblowers, ceramicists, and jewelers work in real time, take a free hands-on class, and hear live music across three stages. The grounds also hold a genuinely good food and drink scene, from local favorites to specialty coffee and wine, so it is easy to spend an afternoon and stay into golden hour.
Sawdust Art Festival – The Details
Dates
June 26 through September 6, 2026
Hours
Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Admission
$5.50 to $12.50; children under 5 free; veterans free with ID
Location
935 Laguna Canyon Road
Buy tickets and browse the artist directory at the Sawdust Art Festival.
Plan Your Visit
See Both in One Evening
Both festivals sit minutes apart on Laguna Canyon Road, which makes it easy to see them in a single visit. The Passport to the Arts, priced at $29, covers one-time entry to the Sawdust Art Festival, the Festival of Arts, and Laguna Art-A-Fair, and includes one-time free parking at the Act V lot along with the seasonal trolley.
Parking in the canyon is limited, so the Act V lot and trolley are the easiest way in. Arrive before sunset, wander the Sawdust grounds and the Festival of Arts gallery, then settle into the Irvine Bowl for the Pageant as the stars come out.
This creative energy is not a summer visitor. It is part of the character of Laguna Beach year-round, woven into the galleries, the coastline, and the homes that look out over it. For those drawn to a community where art and coastal living are the same conversation, Laguna offers something few places can.
The Aaronson Group
Kevin Aaronson represents buyers and sellers across Laguna Beach and the coastal Orange County luxury market. To talk through what is available or what your home could bring in today’s market, reach out anytime.
Kevin Aaronson
The Aaronson Group | Keller Williams Luxury
BRE 01259966
Call: 949-388-5194 or Email: info@previewochomes.com
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