Laguna Here We Come!  

Did You Know? - Flying A was a sponsor of New York Yankee television broadcasts in one of the company's final years, featuring the slogan, "Ooooh, do we worry!" and a dog named Axelrod. The commercials sometimes had a jingle with a creative if somewhat odd rhyme: "At Flying A we worry ... about your carburetor ... your sparkplugs, muffler, tail lights and your voltage regulator." The Yankees had a very poor season that year. One wonders if maybe a better year by the Yanks might have made the company survive.

Flying A was closely linked with college football and basketball in the Far West between 1925 and 1962. Tidewater Associated Oil Co. owned the broadcast rights to Pacific Coast Conference (forerunner to the Pac-10) football and basketball during most of that period. Tidewater and Flying A were also were linked with scoreboard and public-address system sponsorships at most stadiums and arenas on the West Coast. "Play ball with Flying A!" was a familiar slogan to sports fans from the late 1920s to the early 1960s.

“Flying A” gasoline was a product of the Tidewater Refinery at the lower end of Bayonne, N.J., as well as refineries on the Pacific Coast that formerly belonged to Associated Oil Co. In 1878 Tidewater Oil Company of Pennsylvania moved to Bayonne, N.J. In 1928, Pacific Western Oil Corporation incorporated as a holding company for Edward L. Doheny and family which subsequently came under the control of J. Paul Getty.

Did You Know? - Chenille, the French word for caterpillar, is typically used to describe a type of fabric. Many fabrics, such as mohair and wool, get their names from the fibers with which they are made. Chenille, however, is named for the unique process in which it is made. It is manufactured by wrapping short lengths of fabric, called "piles," around a tightly wound core of yarn. The edges of these piles then stand at right angles from the yarn's core, giving chenille both its softness and its characteristic look. Chenille can appear iridescent without actually using iridescent fibers. The yarn is commonly manufactured from cotton, but can also be made using acrylic, rayon and olefin.
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According to textile historians, chenille-type yarn was produced as far back the eighteenth century. In the 1930s, usage for the tufted fabric became widely desirable for throws, bedspreads, and carpets, though not popularized for apparel until commercial production in the 1970s. Standards of industrial production were not introduced until the 1990s, when the Chenille International Manufacturers Association (CIMA) was formed with the mission to improve and develop manufacturing processes.It used to be called &quot;Heirloom&quot; but the name has been changed to Dazzle.... Great chothes with remarkable materials

Did You Know? - Hydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn; they grow in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) at the ends of the stems. In many species, the flowerheads contain two types of flowers, small fertile flowers in the middle of the flowerhead, and large, sterile bract-like flowers in a ring around the edge of each flowerhead. Other species have all the flowers fertile and of the same size.

Did You Know? - In most species the flowers are white, but in some species, can be blue, red, pink, or purple. In these species the exact colour often depends on the pH of the soil; acidic soils produce blue flowers, neutral soils produce very pale cream petals, and alkaline soils results in pink or purple. Hydrangeas are one of very few plants that accumulate aluminium. Aluminium is released from acidic soils, and in some species, forms complexes in the hydrangea flower giving them their blue colour.

Did You Know? - Laguna Beach's summer trolley service, offering free transportation around downtown, on Laguna Canyon Road, and on Coast Highway from Cliff Drive to South Coast Medical Center, got underway this week and will continue through Aug. 31.

A mixed fleet of both gas- and propane-powered vehicles will be wheeling by with 12 shuttles in service Monday through Thursday and 15 Friday through Sunday. The routes and stops remains the same as last summer, and trolleys are in continuous service every 20 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m

Did You Know? - Main Beach is the largest and most popular stretch of beach in Laguna. It is located in the middle of the town where Broadway and Ocean Avenues intersect Coast Highway. The best known landmark on this beach is the white lifeguard tower located in the middle of the beach.

This beach is mostly sand bottom (rocky at the northern end near Bird Rock) with shorebreak type surf which makes it very popular with swimmers, bodyboarders, and body surfers. Surfing is not permitted on Main Beach during the summer months. The surf can be large and dangerous with numerous rip currents and heavy shore break waves.

Popular activities at this beach are basketball (there are two courts at the north end), volleyball (there are several courts on the beach) and other sand activities. There is a boardwalk that runs the length of the beach so it is a nice place to take a walk or people watch. Shower and restroom facilities are provided on both ends of the beach. Since it is in the middle of the town, it is a short walk from the beach to the numerous restaurant and shopping areas that are downtown.

Did You Know? - The Laguna Playhouse was launched in a living room! That's right...on October 22, 1920, a group of dedicated local drama devotees got together and decided it was time to establish a community theatre in Laguna Beach. Initially there were play readings and performances in private homes and storefronts.

Finally, in 1969, the beautiful Moulton Theatre was built with private funds on City-owned land on Laguna Canyon Road. The old Playhouse was razed, but a historic marker still memorializes the site where the much-loved theatre once stood.

From small beginnings in a Laguna Beach living room more than 85 years ago, The Laguna Playhouse has grown to become a vital component in the fabric of the community. It provides enriching high-quality entertainment for audiences of all ages, both local residents and visitors, and enhances the city’s luster as one of the country’s most appealing tourist destinations

Did You Know? - A smash hit at the festival was the Living Pictures show created by artist and vaudevillian Lolita Perine. She dressed local residents in costume and seated them behind a makeshift frame. These paintings that came to life fascinated viewers of all ages.

In 1935 Roy Ropp, a local construction worker, realtor and amateur artist, expanded Perine's concept and developed the performance into its present-day format. Ropp renamed the new and improved event "The Spirit of the Masters," and continued to design and produce it with resounding success until 1941. In 1936, the production was renamed yet again, for the last time, the "Pageant of the Masters."

Between 1933 and 1940, the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters moved from one location to another each summer. In 1938, 70 community groups formed a committee to establish a permanent home, and selected the present site of the Festival and Pageant for a future community central park.

On July 30, 1941, the first Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters held on the site marked the park's opening to the public. News stories claimed the spectacle was a magical creation and word traveled fast that it was a "must see." The show closed on August 8, 1941, a great success for the artists and residents.

The site served as Laguna Beach's community park for many years. From the 1940s to the 1960s the park was used year-round for a variety of events, including the community Easter Egg Hunt, carnivals, the Goat Show, and the Scottish Festival. In the '60s, with the Festival's continuing success and popularity, the event was expanded to six weeks, and the temporary wooden artist booths that were installed each summer were replaced with permanent structures.

From its humble beginnings as a means of promoting and sustaining the fine arts in Laguna Beach, the Festival of Arts has matured into a world-renowned cultural institution drawing visitors from far and wide. The Festival - with its premier attraction, the Pageant of the Masters - has shared its success, awarding millions of dollars over the years in the form of scholarships to art students and grants to art and cultural organizations, and hosting cultural events on the grounds throughout the year. The Festival of Arts and the City of Laguna Beach have grown up together, becoming inseparable in the eyes of residents and of the many patrons who return year after year to enjoy the world-class art of the Festival and unique tableaux vivants of the Pageant.