30 lagunabeachindy . com NOVEMBER 4 , 2022
Day of the Dead Fundraiser for Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center Brought Out Creative Spirits
Guests danced , dined , dressed up in Day of the Dead costume to honor Laguna ’ s departed artists and their own loved ones , fund the Center ’ s creativity-driven mission
Bill and Maria Hoffman dressed in catrin and catrina garb and makeup for the occasion . Photo / Barbara McMurray
By LB Indy Staff
The Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center held its “ Day of the Dead ” annual fall fundraising event on the beautiful Moss Point Estates tennis court on Saturday . Seventy guests reflected on the departed Laguna artists memorialized by the altar displays , including plein air painter Anna Hills , ballerina Lila Zali , poet
John Gardiner , and photographers and BC Space founders Mark Chamberlain and Jerry Burchfield . Several guests brought mementos of their own loved ones and wrote out cards recalling their hallmarks . Nearly every attendee wore a variation on a catrin or catrina costume depicting a regal skeleton , like those worn throughout Mexico during Día
The candlelit altar paid tribute to beloved local poet John Gardiner , who gave frequent readings at the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center . He died in 2017 . Photo / Barbara McMurray
de los Muertos celebrations .
As the gates opened , one-person band Gerardo “ Jerry ” Segura sang and played , dressed as a catrin . Guests danced with abandon to the six-piece band Mesomash led by saxophonist Arte Hernandez . Proceeds supported the Center , a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting and nurturing the arts to benefit the community .
About the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center
In 2022 , still recovering from the pandemic , the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center brought to Laguna Beach a wide range of unique events : a women ’ s History Month film festival with a Zoom talk from Ms . Magazine editor Katherine Spillar , an Earth Day environmental film series , Laguna Beach ’ s first Juneteenth celebration , and onenight concerts , play and poetry readings by local artists . A dance school has sprung up in the tidily remodeled upstairs space , as has a music school . Classes to learn video shooting and editing will soon be added .
Founder and director Rick Conkey stated the Center ’ s mission : “ to harness the power of the arts to benefit the community .” The Center is in the former BC Space , a collaborative arts hub started by photographers and educators Jerry Burchfield and Mark Chamberlain . During its existence from 1973 to 1987 ¬– one of the longest-running galleries in the U . S . –– BC Space presented many provocative exhibitions . Recently remodeled and renamed the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center , it is just off Coast Highway at 235 Forest Avenue , upstairs above the Promenade in Laguna Beach . lbculturalartscenter . org
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