Newport Beach Film Festival returns with A-list star power and a packed lineup
By CLARA BEARD
Peter Frampton, Pedro Pascal, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and a host of filmmakers and performers headline eight days of screenings, premieres, honors, parties and special events as the 27th annual festival brings more than 350 films from 21 countries to Newport Beach…
Echoes of Ancient China: Bei Bei breathes new life into the guzheng
By DIANNE RUSSELL
The Chinese American musician and educator is carrying a 2,500-year-old musical tradition forward by blending the guzheng and guqin with jazz, electronic music, improvisation and cinematic sound while teaching a new generation to understand both the technique and cultural history behind the instruments…
Coast Film & Music Festival brings back 10 days of big stories and live music
By CLARA BEARD
More than 80 documentaries, live performances, workshops, panels and outdoor experiences return to Laguna Beach October 16-25, with programming that explores adventure, conservation, music, community and the natural world across venues throughout the city…
The Laguna Beach artist transforms beach scenes, vintage motel signs, roadside landmarks and Route 66 memories into bold, colorful paintings that capture the feeling of familiar places while reflecting her belief that joy can be a defining artistic style….
From sketch to screen: Hilbert Museum hosts first-ever Disney Fan Day on October 15
By DIANNE RUSSELL
Original Disney and Pixar artwork, special museum tours, hands-on activities and an appearance by animator and Cars co-creator Jørgen Klubien offer visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how sketches, storyboards and creative ideas evolve into some of animation’s most beloved films….
Lagunatics still finds plenty to laugh about
By CLARA BEARD
Photos by Mary Hurlbut
No Square Theatre’s long-running musical roast once again turns Laguna Beach traffic, city issues, familiar personalities and civic absurdities into parody songs, fast-moving sketches and a communal laugh at the peculiarities that make the town unmistakably its own….
FEATURED ARTIST
Don Krotee
Don Krotee’s transparent watercolor captures a family vineyard along Portugal’s Douro River, pairing the beauty of the landscape with the centuries-old story of port wine production and the challenging river journey that helped shape one of the region’s most enduring traditions….
Artist GG Banducci puts Spanish tile twist on Dana Point’s elephant parade
By CLARA BEARD
After months of shaping, sanding, painting and experimenting with unfamiliar materials, Dana Point artist GG Banducci transformed a full-size elephant into a richly textured sculpture inspired by traditional Spanish tile for the city’s Biggest Little Elephant Parade….
Family Fun Fest supports Segerstrom Center’s Studio D: Arts School for All Abilities
By DIANNE RUSSELL
Games, music, food, book signings and sensory-friendly activities come together for a joyful community celebration benefiting Studio D, Segerstrom Center’s inclusive arts program where students of all abilities explore dance, music and theater while building confidence, creativity and connection…
Low tickets remain for Dana Point Trolley Art & History Tour
The October 10 tours take riders through Dana Point for a closer look at public art, historic landmarks and stories tied to the city’s development, with Art & Culture Ambassadors and Historical Society docents guiding the 90-minute journey through familiar places with deeper histories….
The Lido Theater expands live entertainment with must-see music and comedy performances
Margaret Cho, Hinder, Rita Rudner, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Pete Yorn, Andy Grammer and more are headed to Newport Beach as the restored Art Deco landmark continues expanding its calendar of concerts, comedy and special performances into 2027…
Laguna Art Museum presents Kim Manfredi’s first solo museum exhibition
Laguna Art Museum’s 2026 Art + Nature commissioned artist uses layers of color, drips, bleeds and abstraction to explore perception, landscape and humanity’s relationship with the natural world in an exhibition that will extend outdoors with a participatory installation in Heisler Park…
Amy Van Winkle solo exhibition on view at Kennedy Contemporary through October 17
In Chromatic States, Santa Fe encaustic artist Amy Van Winkle turns 12 colors into layered studies of emotion and interior life, using pigment, scale and texture to explore states ranging from restlessness to stillness in works now on view at the Balboa Island gallery….
UC Irvine Langson OC Museum of Art presents Hello Again and Tokio Ueyama
Two exhibitions span more than a century of California art, bringing together works that examine landscape, domestic space and urban culture while also tracing the life, artistic influences and creative network of Japanese American painter Tokio Ueyama and his connections to Little Tokyo…
SCFTA presents Houston Ballet with pianist George Li Sons de L’âme on October 15-18
Houston Ballet makes its first appearance on the Segerstrom Hall stage with an intimate full-length work choreographed by Stanton Welch, pairing 20 dancers with the romantic music of Chopin performed live by internationally acclaimed pianist George Li in the work’s West Coast debut…
Hilbert Museum explores the art of viewing stones with Richard Turner on September 10
By DIANNE RUSSELL
LPAPA and Coast Film & Music Festival team up for a new Music & Art Weekend October 3-4
Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) and Coast Film & Music Festival (CFMF) in conjunction with Coast Film Foundation (CFF) announce a new collaboration to present Music & Art Weekend…
LAM features Andy Moses: Into the Light exhibition with exclusive artist tour on August 29
Join artist Andy Moses for an intimate gallery tour of his exhibition Into the Light. Limited tickets are available for this event on Saturday, Aug. 29 from 5-7 p.m.
SCFTA presents Beauty and the Beast from September 22-October 11
Artist GG Banducci puts Spanish tile twist on Dana Point’s elephant parade
Singer-songwriter Ashley E. Norton and her band bring country, Americana and roots music to Ivan’z House on October 28. The concert is part of Laguna Beach Live!’s 25th anniversary celebration.
SATURDAY
OCT 10
Pinch Me! Band at Salt Creek Grille
Salt Creek Grille will sell out again, so get reservations early…
For more information