Laguna Beach’s art festivals look to rebound after Tropical Storm Hilary

The sun broke through the clouds Monday morning, serving notice to Orange County residents that Tropical Storm Hilary had passed.

Around town in Laguna Beach, businesses and the city took precautions in preparation for the tropical storm barreling its way north over the weekend.

Laguna Beach had announced that all three of its art festivals would be closed on Sunday and Monday. Exhibiting artists took their work home with them, protecting their creations from the expected deluge.

It proved a wise move. Art-A-Fair officials returned Monday to find that the storm had ripped through the sunshade at the venue.

Kim Brandon-Watson, the vice president of marketing for Art-A-Fair, said the festival would not be able to reopen on Tuesday as planned, adding that the hope was that it would welcome back patrons this weekend.

“So many artists came on their own just to check out what’s happening, and then helping clean up because there was mud and stuff all over,” Brandon-Watson said in a phone interview Monday. “Everybody’s coming together. We’re going to try to fix the tarps. They’re ripped, but I ordered some new ones that aren’t to the quality, but at least get some in [Tuesday], and we might be able to patch something together. Half the show’s OK. The other half isn’t.”

The summer art festival season is rapidly coming to an end. Art-A-Fair plans to offer free admission to the grounds for the time remaining, Brandon-Watson said. The festival is scheduled to close its doors on Sunday, Sept. 3.

Brandon-Watson explained the rationale behind offering free admission, even as the festival is set to lose a week’s worth of visitors.

Debris and mud wound up on the floor at Art-A-Fair in Laguna Beach following Tropical Storm Hilary.

(Courtesy of Kim Brandon-Watson)

“We’re going to patchwork these tarps up,” Brandon-Watson said. “There’s going to be a few empty booths compared to [being] full. We just figured that’s what we need to do to make up, also, for the week that we’re going to have lost.”

Sharbie Higuchi, director of marketing and public relations for the Festival of Arts, said the festival utilized various communication channels to notify the public of the closure.

Artwork brought by the exhibitors was removed from the grounds, and team members worked to cover all electrical equipment on site.

“As the recent tropical storm threatened our coastal community, the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters took swift and comprehensive measures to safeguard our events and exhibits,” Higuchi wrote in an email. “The priority was to ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, artists and staff, as well as to protect Festival exhibitors’ artworks, and mitigate potential damage. Thanks to these proactive steps, the impact was minimal, leaving us with little more than debris and leaves to contend with and some water runoff across the grounds.”

The closure resulted in the cancellation of the Pageant of the Masters show on Monday and Tuesday. The festival planned to reach out to those with tickets for the two shows with further instructions.

The Festival of Arts’ Runway Fashion Show was postponed from its scheduled date on Sunday to the following Sunday, Aug. 27, at noon. Art classes in the festival’s Art Center for that date were also rescheduled for this Sunday.

“This decision was not made lightly and was based on information provided by the National Weather Service and local authorities,” David Perry, president of the Festival of Arts, said of the two-day closure in a statement. “Our priority is to provide a remarkable and safe experience for everyone, and we appreciate the understanding and cooperation of our patrons, volunteers, artists and participants.”

Hilary did cut short a planned three-day weekend fundraiser to provide aid following the wildfires in Hawaii. The “Spirit of Aloha” event had been scheduled to run last Friday through Sunday at the Sawdust Art Festival, which also has two weeks left in its summer show. The grounds closed Sunday and reopened Tuesday.