Laguna Beach community revels in return of Hospitality Night
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Laguna Beach’s annual holiday program proved as popular as ever, with people popping in from all corners of the community to partake in the festivities of Hospitality Night.
Snowflake-lit trees set the scene as hundreds filed into the downtown area to eat, drink and be merry.
Hospitality Night, a local tradition held on the first Friday of December, shut down all of Forest Avenue and portions of other downtown streets to vehicles, as businesses and restaurants benefited from the foot traffic.
Brittany Ganson, the president and chief executive of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, said 47 vendors signed up to have pop-up booths on the street for the event. The vendors — up from a total of 33 the year before — featured a wide variety of businesses, including those in health and wellness and hospitality, as well as museums, retailers and restaurants.
Highlights of the evening included entertainment provided by local schoolchildren. Laguna Beach Unified School District students sang carols in front of Laguna Presbyterian Church.
Anneliese School also performed on the main stage. Main Beach across South Coast Highway was relatively quiet, reinforcing the fact that Forest Avenue was the place to be on Friday.
Ganson began her position at the Chamber of Commerce, just ahead of this marquee event and another: the recent Taste of Laguna Food and Music Festival.
“This is my first round with everything, so to now have both of those under my belt and to understand what they look like, what the experience is, I am beyond impressed by the amount of individuals that turn out for both events,” Ganson said.
At the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Councilwoman Sue Kempf remarked it may have been the most well-attended Hospitality Night she could remember.
Councilman Bob Whalen also thanked Sande St. John for overseeing the arrival of Santa Claus, a duty he characterized as “essential.”
Eschewing a sleigh for this particular event, Santa came to town on a lifeguard jeep just after 6 p.m. on Friday. He greeted a handful of children, then ascended a stage in the Peppertree Lot, where Voice of Laguna personality Ed Steinfeld was waiting for him.
Their interview included questions about the naughty-to-nice ratio of the kids (Santa said all the kids in attendance had been nice), as well as workplace benefits for the elves in the North Pole. Vacation begins “as soon as all the work’s done,” Santa said.
Soon after, Mayor Alex Rounaghi took the stage to lead the crowd in the lighting of the peppertree that graces the area. It instantly set the lot aglow while artificial snow fell. The Laguna Community Concert and JaZz Band added to the ambience.
Families later congregated at Santa’s house to share their Christmas wish lists with Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. Additional holiday-themed activities included jump houses in the form of a snow globe and a wrapped gift.
“The tree lightning, everything was gorgeous,” Ganson said. “I had no idea that the snow bubbles were going to be coming out. All of the kids, the energy, the furry friends, there were just so many people enjoying themselves.”
