El Toro may be the most burning issue elsewhere in Orange County, but in Laguna Beach the question is “Should they stay or should they go?”
The question refers to the fate of the Festival of Arts and the Pageant of Masters, annual traditions in Laguna for generations that are now threatening to leave the city over a rent dispute with the City Council.
The issue has divided a town where residents are often outspoken on everything from parking and traffic to tree-trimming and neon signs. Some say the Pageant is a Laguna trademark that must stay, while others say the art festival (along with its sister festivals, the Sawdust and Art-A-Fair), create intolerable conditions for locals during summer months.
The business community, however, has remained largely silent through the ordeal, though it seems to have the most to lose if the Festival moves.
“I’m surprised they haven’t rallied (behind the Festival),” said Sherri Butterfield, president of the Festival board.
On the surface, at least, her observation appears to have merit.
Economic Effect
The Festival took in $5.29 million in revenue and had over 225,000 visitors last year. A survey by the city’s visitors’ bureau in 1997 found that 46% of the overnight guests at the city’s hotels that summer said they purchased Pageant tickets before they came to town.
Reflecting their concerns over the emotions the pending move has evoked in Laguna Beach, most business owners and managers contacted for this story preferred to speak on condition of anonymity. But some waxed philosophical, preferring to look at the potential of other opportunities to the downside of lost business.
Hoteliers, for instance, don’t seem overly concerned about the Festival’s move.
“The Pageant runs at our peak season in Laguna,” said one hotel manager. “It might affect mid-week volume but restaurants would probably feel the pinch more.”
One source said local hoteliers were a bit miffed when the Festival approached a Newport Beach hotel for sponsorship last year without giving the locals the same opportunity.
Another said hotels might see a slight downturn during the first year if the Festival leaves, but said their departure probably wouldn’t have a big overall effect because most people who visit the Festival don’t stay overnight.
“They’re day-trippers,” he said, adding it might even be better for business if the Festival left. “Then (the grounds) could be used year-round,” he said.
That sentiment was echoed by business people and others in the arts community who can envision a multitude of alternative uses for the property. (The original parcel now occupied by the Irvine Bowl was purchased from an estate in 1941 under the condition it be used for recreational purposes. Additional land was then purchased from the James Irvine Corp. That property was willed to the city and the payments refunded upon James Irvine’s death in 1947.)
“If it (the Festival) departs, it will probably be replaced with another cultural activity,” said Richard Stein, executive director of the Laguna Playhouse, which is next door to the Festival grounds.
But while Stein said the concentration of the festivals and playhouse in one area helps them all, he doesn’t believe the Festival’s departure would have any direct effect on the playhouse.
“We have a loyal, supportive audience,” he said. “We (all) co-exist peacefully.”
Stein pointed out that other cultural organizations like Ballet Pacifica and the Chamber Music Society were once based in Laguna Beach, but moved to facilities that better accommodated their productions.
“If they (the Festival board) determine their long-term health depends on the move, that’s a decision only they can make,” he said.
At the neighboring Art-A-Fair, marketing director Cliff Wassman said he understands the viewpoints on both sides, but suggested the departure of the Festival and Pageant could be harmful.
Among restaurateurs, whom locals suspect could take the heaviest hit, some said they could lose from one-half to two-thirds of their early-seating business if the Festival and Pageant move.
June Neptune, director of Tivoli Terrace on the Festival grounds, said she’d be sorry to see the Festival go, but added, “We’ll find a way (to survive).”
Tivoli Terrace pays 6% of its gross revenue to the Festival to help defray payments to the city, but Neptune declined to disclose revenue figures.
Feeling the Pinch
Other businesses, too, believe they will feel the effects if the Festival leaves.
Susie Welton, owner of the Pottery Shack, a longtime Laguna retailer, said her business is more tourist-dependent because it isn’t downtown. Welton said the business sees a “dramatic increase” in sales in July and August, and that sales spike late in the day,before the Pageant performances,during festival months.
“I think they’re (the Festival) being penny-wise and pound-foolish,” she said.
Festival exhibitor Kate Riegler said she canvassed dozens of businesses and found only one whose owner refused to sign a petition in favor of keeping the Festival in Laguna.
But one downtown shopowner contacted for this report said he hopes local customers,the bulk of his business,would come around more if the Festival crowd was thinner.
“It won’t drive us out of business,” he said.
(Still, about 100 of his customers have signed the petition,which sits on the counter by the cash register,to keep the Festival in Laguna.)
Another businessperson, who has been in Laguna for seven years, said, “The longer it goes on, the more I think it would be better if they leave. Emotionally, I think they (the board) left years ago.” n
