Laguna Beach summer art festivals

The four events at a glance

Event	2027 dates posted	Where	Who it features
Pageant of the Masters	June 30 to August 28	650 Laguna Canyon Road	Live people posing as famous artworks on an outdoor stage
Festival of Arts Fine Art Show	June 28 to August 27	650 Laguna Canyon Road	More than 100 juried Orange County artists
Sawdust Art Festival	Not yet posted	935 Laguna Canyon Road	Full-time Laguna Beach residents
Laguna Art-A-Fair	June 25 to September 5	777 Laguna Canyon Road	A cooperative of independent artists with no residency rule

The dates come from each organizer. They shift from year to year: the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show ran July 7 to September 3 in 2026 and opens June 28 in 2027.

How they differ

The Pageant is a ticketed evening show with a live narrator and orchestra. It starts at 8:30 p.m. and ends at about 10:30 p.m., with a 15-minute intermission. The Festival of Arts Fine Art Show shares the same grounds, and a Pageant ticket includes it. Sawdust is a nonprofit festival on a wood-chip canyon site, and its summer exhibitors must be full-time Laguna Beach residents. Art-A-Fair describes itself as a cooperative of independent artists from around the world.

Hours differ too. The Fine Art Show opens at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends in 2027. In 2026 Art-A-Fair opened at 10 a.m. every day and closed at 8 p.m., or 7 p.m. on Sundays. Sawdust says its summer show runs seven days a week and has not posted hours.

Tickets and the Passport to the Arts

Pageant tickets go on sale to the public on December 1, 2026. Prices for 2027 are not posted. The Festival of Arts lists no age discounts for the Pageant, and it does not admit children under four.

As of October 2026, the Festival of Arts’ Art Show page lists adult admission at $10 Monday to Thursday and $15 Friday to Sunday, with lower prices for students, seniors and children 6 to 12. Art-A-Fair and Sawdust had not posted 2027 summer prices.

Visit Laguna Beach describes a Passport to the Arts that gives one-time entry to Art-A-Fair, the Festival of Arts and Sawdust, a one-time free parking pass at the Act V lot and discounts at other art organizations. It excludes the Pageant. That page lists no price, so ask a festival ticket office whether the Passport is offered for 2027 and what it costs.

Free entry for residents

Laguna Beach residents with ID enter the Festival of Arts free. Art-A-Fair’s 2026 hours page said residents are always free, and it listed free days for residents of other Orange County cities and of several other Southern California counties. Sawdust lists Locals Nights, OC Resident Nights and Free County Days; its 2026 listing made every Thursday free for Laguna Beach residents. Sawdust also admits veterans free any day with military ID, and the Festival of Arts lists free admission for military. Check each festival’s page for the 2027 days.

Parking and the free trolley

The Festival of Arts says it has no parking at its facility and that three festivals run at once, so it advises arriving early. It lists meters on Laguna Canyon Road at $3.60 to $6.45 an hour, enforced daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and paid public lots within walking distance.

In summer 2026, which the city defined as June 26 to September 7, the Canyon Route trolley ran from the Act V peripheral lot (Lot 16) to the festivals and downtown, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily, every 30 minutes. From July 2, a Summer Breeze route ran from a free lot at 16355 Laguna Canyon Road in Irvine, Thursday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Check the city’s trolley page for the summer 2027 schedule. The parking guide covers city lots and permits, and the getting around guide explains the trolley.

Pets and rules

All three festivals limit animals to service animals. Sawdust and Art-A-Fair name ADA service animals only, and the Festival of Arts does not allow emotional support animals. The Pageant bans cameras and recording devices during the show.

July 4 and the weeks around it

The Pageant and Festival of Arts are closed July 4 and 5, 2027. Art-A-Fair was closed July 4 in 2026. The Fourth of July page covers the city’s fireworks and closures.

After the summer

The Sawdust Winter Fantasy brings Sawdust back in November and December. The month guides for June, July and August cover weather and daylight. For lodging, see the Stay section.