Festival of the Arts and Pageant of the Masters Now Through  August 29

Gold Coast: Treasures of California: Journey along California’s coast, showcasing masterpieces from world-class museums like the Getty, LACMA, Laguna Art Museum, de Young Museum, Timken Museum of Art, and more, plus iconic monuments from some of the state’s most famous cities. With living pictures, original music, and captivating storytelling, the Pageant brings California’s rich legacy to life.

July 14, 2025

By Lydia Ringwald

The Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts has opened with entertainment scheduled throughout the summer.

Visitors may wander through a maze of artist booths in the architecturally designed fairgrounds to view a myriad of inspiring art works in many mediums – paintings, ceramics, glass art, wood sculptures and photography.

Featured Festival artist Marlo Bartels is renown for his landmark tile works of art that define the Laguna Beach art colony; from his iconic tile chess chairs and table on Main Beach to the  lively fountain with tile trim at the Festival of Arts, to his wall tile installations in the Laguna Art Museum and tile bench in front of the museum.

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FORMER CERRITOS COLLEGE student Marlo Bartels at the show.He’s created landmark tile sculptures throughout Laguna Beach and has exhibited with the Festival for many years. Photo Lydia Ringwald.

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In addition to Laguna Beach locations, Marlo Bartels has created signature public art for major development sites throughout Southern California. Visit his booth this year and view his most recent creations. Marlo studied art at Cerritos Community College in the early years.

A few more highlights include the dramatic original oil paintings of Lawrence McAdams, Mark Jacobucci’s inspiring land and water scape paintings, meditative original landscapes by Jason Li, brightly colored prints of Vinita Voogd and intriguing abstract paintings by Isabelle Alessandra. 

Michael Situ returns this year with haunting and dramatic Laguna land and seascapes.

Judith Haron’s stunning ‘Illuminated Letters’ paintings return this year, with contemporary images rendered in a style reminiscent of Medieval manuscripts, framed in golden halos and decorated with ornate floral medallions.

Ceramics and glass artworks this year offer many surprises. View Fred Stodder’s one of a kind ceramic vases in abstract and figural forms and Eri Sugimoto’s lucid and mysterious ceramic art.

Sean Poechl’s  brightly colored sculpted stained glass pieces are set in a collage and Jeffries three dimensional glass sculptures are mounted dramatically for wall installation.

Troy Poeschl’s wood vertebrae installations explore skeletal structures, both in human and animal forms, revealing insights into the living skeletal art that we are made of.

The photographic art form represented at the Art Festival includes Roger Bennet’s photographic search in the mysteries of the real world; the secret messages in landscapes and nature.

Stunning original jewelry designs, wearable art, are also included in this year’s festival array. Jewelry artist Linda Potichke showcases some of her dramatic gold and gem creations, with intriguing necklaces that when displayed on the wearer become a livable art form honoring the idea that we are each an artwork.

Morgan Amirani’s jewelry honors nature with leaf and twig forms crafted in silver and inset with precious stones and gems, empowering the wearer with a totem of the environment that sustains and nurtures us.

These highlights represent only a few of the artists in this year’s Festival. Visitors may explore the art the entire summer and schedule a visit that also includes Jazz, Country, Rock entertainment is scheduled throughout the summer. 

Art classes for all ages offer another opportunity to visit the Festival of Arts and enjoy the day.

The Pageant 2025, ‘Gold Coast’ explores museum collections in California with tableaux of art works from the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, one of the first museums in California, to San Francisco’s De Young Museum, to our outstanding museum collections here in Southern California: LACMA, the Hilbert Museum, the Bowers Museum, the J. Paul Getty Museum and Getty Villa and the San Diego Museum of Art.

Those who buy a ticket to the Pageant may enter the festival throughout the summer without additional cost.

Please visit the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters https://www.foapom.com to view all that is offered and make plans for your visit.