BRIEFLY IN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

“Surf’s Up” at Festival of Arts Saturday

The Festival of Arts will celebrate the history of surfing and Southern California coastal living this Saturday at “Surf’s Up,” a special event free with Festival admission.

“We are really excited to showcase beach life and culture on the Southern California coast. Our goal is that those who attend learn to appreciate the distinctive lifestyle celebrated in Laguna Beach and other coastal cities,” said Susan Davis, special events director.

The festival will highlight exhibitors whose artwork depicts both the scenery and the culture of Southern California. A vintage collection of surfboards from the Surfing Heritage Foundation will be on display, along with an exhibition of “woody” cars from the Southern California Woodies Club. Additionally, surf films will be playing in the Forum Theater.

The Eliminators surf band, a group of five surfers and longboarders from California, will perform music reminiscent of the Ventures, the Del-Tones and the Lively Ones from 1 to 4 p.m. Band members Joe Kurkowski, Doug Harlow, Preston Wilson, Frank Hughes and Bill Swanson found their calling after a surf contest that turned into a party that turned into an all-night jam session.

The Festival of Arts, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. through September 1 (closed Aug. 26). The Act V parking lot on Laguna Canyon Road is recommended. Festival admission prices are $7 for general admission and $4 for seniors and students. All general admission tickets are season passes. Laguna Beach residents with ID receive free admission, as do children under the age of 12. For information, call (949) 494-1145 or visit www.LagunaFestivalofArts.org.

Free locals days at Sawdust Art Festival

Laguna Beach locals will have three opportunities to attend the Sawdust Festival, 935 Laguna Canyon Road, for free in the next week.

Tonight is one of the festival’s “First Fridays,” in which city residents can get in free all day, followed by Sunday’s Benevolence Fund/Project Skimboard 2 auctions — free times are from 2 p.m. until closing.

Next week, Thursday from 6 p.m. until closing is free to locals (as are all Thursday evenings).

To receive free admission, identification with a Laguna Beach street address must be shown at the ticket window. One free entry, per date, per ID.

For more information, call (949) 494-3030, or visit www.SawdustArtFestival.org.

“Art in a Box” continues at Festival of Arts

New artworks at the Festival of Art’s “Art in a Box” exhibit are available. Given the theme “Passion” and a small, empty box, each artist was asked to create a piece of art to fit inside the box. Artists employed everything from paint to jewels to produce these one-of-a-kind miniature masterpieces, which visitors can acquire at a fraction of the cost of full-scale pieces.

Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Artists Fund, which provides financial assistance to local artists who may suffer economic or disability hardship.

New items are added weekly. The “Art in a Box” exhibit can be viewed at Tivoli Lane and at booth # L136 on the Festival Grounds. Prices start at $25. Purchases are partly tax-deductible, and can be made through the Sales Booth at the Festival Entrance. All unsold pieces will be auctioned to the public on Saturday Aug. 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Solo exhibition debuts at Esther Wells Collection

Plein air artist Cynthia Britain will open her new solo exhibition, “Vine- yards and Villages,” at the Esther Wells Collection, 1390 S. Coast Highway, 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. The collection will be on display through Sept. 19.

The show will feature paintings from Britain’s travels in California wine country and the French countryside, including the seaside village of Honfleur.

Britain is a co-founder of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. Her work has been shown at the Laguna Art Museum, the Orange County Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art and in corporate and private collections and galleries worldwide.