After spending seven days slowly placing grains of sand piece-by-piece, seven Tibetan monks visiting Laguna Beach destroyed the mandala they had created during a dissolution ceremony on Sunday at the Sawdust Festival grounds. A world-peace themed mandala, created by Tibetan monks at the Sawdust Festival, was finished after seven-days of work on Sunday, April 21, 2024. It was then destroyed and spread into the ocean to show how impermanant life is. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) Elena Garmazhapora, center, a Buddhist from Russia who now lives in L.A., prays in fro ..read more

A frolicking juvenile humpback repeatedly breached from waters among the coves off South Laguna, drawing cheers not only from passengers aboard whale-watching vessels but also from residents in homes along the steep hills overlooking the shoreline. Also spotted were fin whales, minke whales  and dolphins on Sunday, April 21 – a display that couldn’t have been better choreographed to celebrate Earth Day, several people commented. A juvenile humpback whale breaches for more than an hour off South Laguna on Sunday, April 21, 2024, drawing cheers from people on charter boats and from home ..read more

Speakers offering solutions to preserve the planet through topics such as ocean conservation, design, education and spirituality are gathering Sunday, April 21, at the newly revived Rivian South Coast Theatre in Laguna Beach for the city’s first TEDx talks. The theater, a Laguna Beach icon, had sat idle in recent years while city leaders decided how to best use the space. Rivian stepped in and renovated the 1930s-era building, turning it into a communal space. Rich German, a Laguna Beach environmentalist, is shown outside the Rivian South Coast Theater in Laguna Beach on Thursday, April 18 ..read more

The Festival of Arts opened its Fresh Faces 2024 exhibit this week in Laguna Beach, offering a sneak peek at eclectic work from local artists who will be featured for the first-time at the annual show in July. “Usually, the festival welcomes 10 to 15 new artists, but this year marks a record-breaking achievement with 21 new artists,” said Sharbie Higuchi, marketing director. “There’s loads of new talent to check out.” Brian Haberlin’s watercolor on paper entitled, “Alice,” is dislpayed at foaSouth Gallery in Laguna Beach on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. His work and the work of 20 other local ar ..read more

With two intimate dinners remaining, followed by a French bacchanalia brunch on the lawn for Bastille Day, Montage Laguna Beach kicked off its limited and luxe Friends of the Chef dinner series on Friday, March, 5. Hungry? Sign up for The Eat Index, our weekly food newsletter, and find out where to eat and get the latest restaurant happenings in Orange County. Subscribe here. Chef Chad Colby of Antico Nuovo in Los Angeles (and former executive chef of Nancy Silverton’s Chi SPACCA) hosted the inaugural event with a six-course, spring-forward Italian tasting menu. Colby served cake-shaped focacc ..read more

In town looking for a house to buy, Chuck and Debra Kent happened upon Laguna Beach United Methodist Church and were invited to last year’s sunrise Easter service on the sand at the city’s Main Beach. “I’ve always liked sunrise services and so does my wife,” said Chuck Kent, who attended the service with Debra and in the year since found a home in Laguna Niguel, moved from the Midwest and joined the welcoming congregation. Sunday morning, he was going to be the guy in a raincoat down at the beach directing people to the nearby church where the service had been moved indoors – and, the sanctuar ..read more

Plans to consider a site to build a new city pool somewhere in Laguna Beach will move forward after councilmembers recently decided the city would not participate with the local school district in its plan to build a new 50-meter pool. The City Council’s unanimous decision on March 12 followed research by a two-person ad hoc committee of Mayor Sue Kempf and Councilmember Bob Whalen, who have participated in discussion with Laguna Beach Unified School District officials since last fall about the district’s plan to upgrade and expand its current pool, which is now located across from Laguna Beac ..read more

Need a way to entertain kids out of school or family in town for spring break? Here’s a free idea that is typically a hit among locals and visitors alike: tide pooling. There happens to be mega low tides this week, meaning the water recedes so much areas typically covered by the ocean are exposed. And in these “intertidal” zones, all kinds of critters can be visible in the salt water tidepools that are created, such as colorful sea anemones, quick-moving crabs, octopus and slimy sea slugs. Get lucky and you might even see a sea star in the shallow pools formed by rocks just at the shoreline ..read more

Do you like free stuff? Do you like to wander through museums? Then I’ve got a deal for you. On March 23, dozens of Southern California museums in Southern California are opening their doors and inviting you to visit. For free. Yes, I said no charge. (Sadly, sometimes the parking is not free, but still …) Note that some places ask you to reserve in advance, so read up on the details. And the free admission applies to the general museum, not any specially ticketed exhibitions. If I were you, I’d get there right when they open, because this will be one crowded day. Here’s the freebie list, court ..read more

Primary elections offer a snapshot of voter sentiment, and in the race for California’s open 47th congressional district the earliest tally suggests voters are leaning toward Republican Scott Baugh and Democrat State Sen. Dave Min as finalists in the Nov. 5 general election. A tally of mail-in ballots announced by the Orange County Registrar of Voters shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. showed Baugh, Min and Democratic challenger Joanna Weiss far ahead of seven others who hope to represent a district that runs along the coast from Huntington Beach through Laguna Beach and inland into Costa Me ..read more