The Orange County town of Laguna Beach has always had a rich art scene, but its main summer event, the Festival of Arts, Pageant of the Masters, is one of the most unique events in the world. The multi-faceted event, which typically lasts from early July until late August, offers different ways to experience and appreciate art.
Experience the Festival of the Arts
The Festival of Arts portion of the event consists of a juried summer art show at the festival grounds on Laguna Canyon Road in downtown Laguna Beach. The tented, open-air exhibits feature fine art, photography, sculpture, and jewelry, much available for purchase. Often the artist is sitting at their display, ready to chat about their work.
The Junior Artist area, meanwhile, displays the impressive work of local kids, from first graders to high schoolers. In a few tents, you can join casual art-making activities at tables.
See the Pageant of the Masters
The showstopper, though, is the lineup of “tableaux vivants” at the Pageant of the Masters inside the Irvine Bowl—the idyllic outdoor venue surrounded by trees on the festival grounds. The evening show features ultra-detailed recreations of classical and contemporary works of art, with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original works.
A live orchestra accompanies each original staging, as well as the voice of an engaging narrator, filling the audience in on everything from information on the work of art being recreated to details about snafus encountered or discoveries made in the process. From the costumes to the lighting to the narration and overall production, it is a spectacle to impress even longtime theatergoers.
Planning Your Visit to the Festival of the Arts, Pageant of the Masters
Plan to come an hour or two before the Pageant so that you have time to explore the Festival of the Arts outside the Irvine Bowl.
Enjoy drinks or dinner beforehand on the festival grounds at the sit-down Terra restaurant, or order a burger, salad, or dessert from the walk-up concession stand Intermission. Or enjoy a glass of wine at the Terra Wine Bar and listen to the live band playing on many evenings.
This time of year, you can also see more exhibits just down Laguna Canyon Road at the Laguna Art-A-Fair and the neighboring Sawdust Art Festival. Both festival sites showcase paintings as well as an eclectic array of jewelry, ceramics, glass, wood sculpture, and other quirky works, all accompanied by live music, glass-blowing demos, and hands-on art activities.
Getting Tickets and Parking for Pageant of the Masters
Book your Pageant of the Masters tickets as soon as you make plans—seats can sell out fast. Admission to the Pageant also includes admission to the Festival of the Arts.
Parking is available at modest rates in local lots or at meters along downtown Laguna Beach streets; download the Laguna Beach Parking App to easily pay from your phone. Or catch the free Laguna Beach Trolley that stops at locations along Pacific Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Rd.
If you want to browse art without going to the Pageant, pick up the Passport to the Arts. You’ll get onetime free admission to all three display events—the Festival of Arts, Laguna Art-A-Fair, and Sawdust Art Festival—plus one-time free parking at the Act V parking lot along Laguna Canyon Road, with access to the free trolley services.
Where to Stay
Hotel options near the festival grounds include luxury and boutique stays such as the Montage Laguna Beach, Surf & Sand Resort, and The Ranch at Laguna Beach, all near the beach. Or, drive just a few miles inland for value-oriented chain hotels such as Ayres Hotel Laguna Woods or Homewood Suites Aliso Viejo. Find more accommodation options among these Laguna Beach hotels.
The Back Story of Pageant of the Masters
This unforgettable outdoor event is a nice nod to the artistic roots of this well-heeled coastal enclave in Orange County, which started as an artists’ colony back in the early 1900s.
As is often the case with artistic endeavors, the Pageant of the Masters was born out of necessity: During the Great Depression, the Laguna Beach community made an effort to attract not just visitors to the area, but visitors who would buy art from local artists. A Festival of Arts was proposed, including the idea of staging “living pictures.”
Over the following decades, the spectacle evolved into one of the area’s biggest draws of the year—a world-famous, one-of-a-kind living celebration of some of history’s great artworks. Consisting of two acts and over three dozen live recreations, each year has a different theme, though a crowd favorite, The Last Supper, typically closes the show. (As proof of its cultural impact, the Pageant has been gently spoofed over the years in shows including Arrested Development and Gilmore Girls.)
In 2025, the theme of the Pageant is Gold Coast: Treasures of California. The lineup of living pictures highlights famous works of art found at Hearst Castle and in various museums across California, like the Edgar Degas ballerina at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.
More to Do Around Laguna Beach
While you’re in town, explore the best Orange County beaches, peruse more art at the Orange County Museum of Art and nearby public art, and visit special Laguna Beach spots such as the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.