3 Festivals Let You Take In Culture to Your Art’s Content

Your internal Christmas shopping clock ticking louder as the days flit by? Then visit Laguna Beach this summer when some 500 artists and crafts people display their wares beneath the welcoming shade of tall, leafy eucalyptus trees.

Three annual arts festivals, within a short walk of one another, will once again set up shop along bucolic Laguna Canyon Road: The Festival of Arts, turning 60 this year, and the Sawdust Festival and Art-A-Fair, both celebrating their 26th anniversaries.

Expect items at the festivals to include the unusual--an Elvis look-alike Chia Pet, a 14-carat gold toe ring or a blown glass windsurfer--and the usual--sculptures, watercolor seascapes, nature photographs. Demonstrations and classes for kids and adults will take place, and plenty of entertainment and eats will be offered.

Highlighting the juried Festival of the Arts (160 exhibitors) will be on-the-lawn performances by Ballet Pacifica. On Sundays, Aug. 9 through 30 at 5 p.m., the Laguna Beach troupe will present a ballet adaptation of traditional dances from around the world. In addition, free instructional “art tours” (2 and 4 p.m. each day) will illuminate artists’ techniques and allow for interaction with exhibitors.

New this year at the Sawdust Festival (200 exhibitors) is a lapidary and metal smith workshop in which artists will strut their welding, stonecutting and forging skills. Other demo booths focus on ceramics, glass-blowing and printmaking, and a Young Artists Room is stocked with magic markers and more. Zydeco, bluegrass, Hawaiian and other groups will provide live music on Wednesday and Friday Ethnic Music nights. A clothing tip: Wear closed, preferably lace-up shoes. Sawdust abounds underfoot.

The Art-A-Fair (150 exhibitors) offers free classes led by professional artists in watercolor, papermaking, acrylics and ceramics. This fest also sponsors visits by children from the Make-a-Wish foundation, which endeavors to make dreams come true for terminally ill children. Paintings made at the fair by these children will be auctioned off July 26 at 1 p.m., with proceeds benefiting the foundation.

What: Festival of Arts, Sawdust Festival and Art-A-Fair.

When: Festival of Arts runs Friday, July 10, through Aug. 30 (daily, 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.). Sawdust Festival, through Aug. 30 (daily, Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday till 11 p.m.). Art-A-Fair, through Aug. 30 (daily, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.).

Where: Festival of Arts, Irvine Bowl Park, 650 Laguna Canyon Road. Sawdust Festival, 935 Laguna Canyon Road. Art-A-Fair, 777 Laguna Canyon Road. All in Laguna Beach.

Whereabouts: San Diego (405) Freeway to Laguna Canyon Road exit, south to grounds near downtown area.

Wherewithal: Festival of Arts admission is $1 to $2, Sawdust Festival is $3 to $4, and Art-A-Fair is $2.50 to $3.50. Children under age 12 admitted free to all three.

Where to Call: Festival of Arts, (714) 494-1145; Sawdust Festival, (714) 494-3030; Art-A-Fair, (714) 494-4514.