The History of the Sawdust Art Festival

The Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival is one of the most anticipated art events of the summer in Orange County. Invite your friends, go with family members or go on a date to the Sawdust Festival and experience all things art. Set in the most unique and sacred outdoor setting, enjoy a day or night admiring arts and crafts, dancing to the live music, taking an art class, munching on local food, and enjoying your time outdoors.

Stay in one of our Newport Beach vacation rentals and the Sawdust Festival is only a 20 minute drive from Newport to Laguna!

The Sawdust Festival began in the 1960's and has quite the interesting history. It all started when an influx of new artists moved to Laguna Beach and forever changed the traditional art scene. They brought fresh new ideas and wanted to display them for everyone to see. The festival started small, but quickly gained traction and over the years grew into one of the most popular summer art shows with thousands of people traveling from all over the globe to experience the Sawdust Art Festival. 

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Walter and Dorothy Funk, who owned a two-and-a-half acre eucalyptus grove on Laguna Canyon Road, offered to rent this land for the art grounds. This beautiful and hidden space is still the venue today because in 1972 the Sawdust board purchased the land from the Funk's for a price of $225,000. The growth of the Sawdust led to permanent staff and structures and also a magical Winter art festival. The Sawdust Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about local Laguna Beach art by providing classes, workshops and demonstrations. Come experience for yourself because you won't want to miss it!

Published on Friday, May 26, 2017