It's Been A Long Time
I began coming here in 1987 and except for a few times when we were on vacation or COVID, spent other days walking the art galleries, having dinner, and then to the festival grounds to see an amazing performance. Tonight will bring us warm weather which is great at 10:00 pm!
The 2026 theme for the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach is "The Greatest of All Time"—or G.O.A.T., for those of us who prefer our fine art with a side of barnyard abbreviation. The show will explore history-defining art and artists through live-action "living pictures," music, and theatrical storytelling. In other words, people stand perfectly still while the rest of us sit there wondering how they don't sneeze!
It was MY responsibility to watch the girls and NOT leave them unattended!
Behave OR I will tell on you!!
Burp! Hic!
Mary and Dianne like my doo! It's called "Wild Thing!"
Just one more... please!!
Dianne saw the price and almost passed out!
The weather was perfect!
Were is my fishing pole??
Zebra anyone?
Here are some fun zebra trivia facts:
- Every zebra has a unique stripe pattern, like a human fingerprint.
- Zebras are black with white stripes, based on their skin color and embryonic development
- Their stripes may help with camouflage, temperature control, social recognition, and deterring biting flies.
- A group of zebras is called a dazzle.
- Zebras can run up to about 40 mph / 65 km/h.
- They are closely related to horses and donkeys.
- Zebras sleep standing up and lying down, but usually only fully relax when others are watching for danger.
- Baby zebras are called foals and can stand within about an hour of birth.
- Zebras communicate with barks, brays, snorts, facial expressions, and ear positions.
- Unlike horses, zebras have never been widely domesticated because they tend to be more aggressive and unpredictable.
Who lives back there?
We watched and listened to the water wheel.
I tossed in a dime and asked for a nickle back! I did not work!
No bees???
We immediately thought of Nick!!!
I could not watch!! He was barefoot!
We always wanted a $60 thing-a-ma-jig!
I took Mary out for a spin!!
...and we spun!!!
Rubber shoes and wooden floors made dancing a little dicey!
Swing your partner around and around
Get a move on ladies!!
The Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival is called that because its original outdoor art fair was set up on a rustic lot with the ground covered in sawdust/wood shavings to keep dust down and create walkable paths.
The name stuck, and the festival still leans into that earthy, handmade feel today — with wood-shaving-covered pathways, artist booths, live demos, and a very local arts-and-crafts atmosphere.
"Time out!!! You gotta see this!!!"
"It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Super Octopus!!"
At the Laguna Sawdust Festival, Dianne was admiring a glass pelican when
Mary shrieked, "Dianne, that's a flying octopus!"
Above the picture booth, a purple octopus flapping his tentacles (technically they're arms, not tentacles) and and clutching a funnel cake. "
Maybe it's modern art," Dianne said.
Oh Dear! We left quickly!!
A gift for Grace??
We made it!
Ainess looks suspicious of the tinned fish!
Brave!!
Did You Know? - "Tinned fish" means fish or seafood that has been preserved and packaged in a tin/can. Common examples include sardines, tuna, anchovies, mackerel, salmon, mussels, oysters, and octopus.
It's often packed in oil, brine, water, or sauce, and can be eaten straight from the tin or served with bread, crackers, rice, salads, pasta, or tapas-style snacks. In recent years, "tinned fish" has also become a trendy term for higher-quality canned seafood, especially varieties from Spain, Portugal, and other coastal food cultures.
You can do it!!! Ainss loves the anchovies!
We loved the SPICY sardines!
She has a new favorite dish!
Here are some quick facts about tinned muscles:
- Tinned mussels are cooked and canned, often in brine, oil, escabeche sauce, or tomato-based sauce.
- They're a good source of protein, iron, vitamin B12, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids.
- They're usually ready to eat straight from the tin.
- Common ways to eat them: with crackers, on toast, in pasta, with rice, or on a seafood board.
- They have a softer texture than fresh mussels and a stronger, briny flavor.
- Once opened, leftovers should be refrigerated and eaten within 1–2 days.
- They may contain a fair amount of sodium, depending on the sauce or brine.
Don't ask, don't tell!
I should not have had muscles, MY tinned fish choice!
Dang, these 60 somethings are strong!
The 2026 Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, California runs nightly from July 9 through September 4, 2026. Titled "The Greatest of All Time," the 90-minute theatrical program features famous living-picture recreations of historical masterpieces by artists like Michelangelo, Monet, Picasso, and Norman Rockwell.
The Irvine Bowl is an outdoor amphitheater in Laguna Beach, California, best known as the home of the Pageant of the Masters and the Festival of Arts.
Key things to know:
- Location: It's in Laguna Beach, not the city of Irvine. It sits in the Laguna Canyon area near downtown Laguna Beach.
- Main event: The Irvine Bowl hosts the famous Pageant of the Masters, an annual summer production where real people pose to recreate famous paintings, sculptures, and artworks — a style known as "living pictures" or tableaux vivants.
- Festival of Arts: The amphitheater is part of the larger Festival of Arts grounds, where artists exhibit and sell work during the summer festival season
- Setting: It's an open-air venue with a canyon backdrop, which gives performances a distinctive coastal Southern California atmosphere.
- History: The Pageant tradition began in the 1930s, and the Irvine Bowl became closely associated with Laguna Beach's identity as an arts colony.
- Name origin: The "Irvine" name comes from the Irvine family/company's historical land ownership in Orange County. Experience: Attending a show there is a classic Laguna Beach summer activity. The Pageant combines live narration, music, theatrical lighting, elaborate sets, and highly detailed costuming.
"Get your program!"
We are right up front!
"I saw one of the performer twitch!"
Bob sits and Paul takes pictures!
Yolie is ready for the show!!
Vicky and Jim await the second half.
Yolie's friends joined us this evening!
The weather was OUTSTANDING, no blankets needed today!
Here's some fun trivia about how they set up the "pictures" in the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach:
- The scenes are called tableaux vivants, meaning "living pictures." Real people pose to look exactly like famous paintings, sculptures, posters, or historical artworks.
- The performers are painted with special makeup and body paint so their skin, clothing, and shadows match the original artwork.
- A lot of the illusion comes from lighting. The lights are carefully aimed so people look flat, almost like they're part of a canvas instead of standing on a stage.
- The sets use forced perspective. Some props are larger or smaller than they seem, so from the audience's viewpoint everything lines up like the original picture.
- The actors often stand inside or behind painted frames, fake walls, and sculptural pieces that hide parts of their bodies and make the image look two-dimensional.
- Performers have to stay completely still while the curtain is open. Even tiny movements can break the illusion.
- The setup is extremely precise: positions are marked, costumes are matched to the artwork, and the stage crew checks details like hand placement, head angle, and facial expression.
- Many scenes are built with layers: a painted backdrop, real props, and live people all combined so the audience sees one finished "painting."
- The Pageant often recreates not just paintings, but also statues, murals, movie posters, and historical scenes.
- Part of the magic is that when the lights change or the curtain opens, the audience suddenly realizes: those are real people inside the artwork.
The reality hits!
We waited until most of the people had left and just strolled to the car which was very close! We were home in two shakes of a lambs tail!
