Festival Of Arts and Pageant Of The Masters Celebrate Final Weekend With A Red Carpet Gala and Festival Runway Fashion Show

The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters concluded its final weekend of the summer with a jam-packed celebration of events. The festive weekend kicked off with the glamorous end-of-summer extravaganza A Night of Magic Gala on Saturday evening, followed by the annual Festival Runway Fashion Show on Sunday afternoon highlighting creativity and sustainability by Festival exhibiting artists.

On Saturday, August 26th, the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters welcomed thousands of guests to its biggest bash of the season for a jam-packed night of fine art, living pictures, strolling entertainment, giveaways, and more. The event began with a red-carpet entrance where guests posed for photographers and in photo booths for souvenir print outs. Among those who walked the carpet were celebrity guests Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), Linda Lavin (Alice), Ginger Chan (KTLA), Kate Linder (Young and the Restless), and the evening's host, Paula Abdul. 

Entertainment was scattered throughout the art exhibit and included Le Petit Cirque acrobats and stilt walkers, as well as close-up magic from three world-class magicians: Johnny Ace Palmer, World Champion Magician; Jon Armstrong and the Mystifying Tiny Plunger; and David Stryker, magician and mentalist. Those in attendance danced to the sounds of three-time Grammy Award winner and Oscar-nominated songwriter Sergio Mendes whose vivacious melodies and infectious rhythms filled the Festival grounds. 

After the concert, guests proceeded to the Irvine Bowl to enjoy a special performance of the 90th Annual Pageant of the Masters production of “Art Colony: In the Company of Artists.” Paula Abdul introduced the Pageant of the Masters, sharing her longtime love of the show since her first visit in 1999. Before the show, Paula also pulled the winning ticket for the Festival's summer-long raffle. The winner of the 2024 Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Ultimate ($63,000 value) was Mariam Pourzamani of San Diego, CA. Proceeds from the night support arts programming for the Festival of Arts. The 2023 event was sponsored by Volvo Cars, KOST 103.5, and Yamaha. 

On Sunday, August 27, the Festival of Arts held the 13th annual Festival Runway Fashion Show highlighting creativity, sustainability, and innovation. Festival artists wowed audiences with their outfits utilizing reclaimed, reused, or recycled materials. The runway show, sponsored by Fashion Island, featured a panel of three judges that chose the top looks in four categories while Festival visitors casted their votes for the “People's Choice Award.” 

The Festival Runway Fashion Show was hosted by film production designer Nelson Coates. Selecting the winners were Laguna Beach artist and former costume and set designer, Gerard Basil Stripling; award-winning costume designer Salvador Perez; and fashion executive, textile designer, documentary producer and creative director, Suzi Chauvel.

The 2023 Festival Runway Fashion Show winners include:

• Painter Elizabeth McGhee received the award “Most Innovative Use of Materials'' for her 1950's style Bubble Dress which she designed and modeled herself. She used colorful single-use plastic bags inside bubble wrap to create dots of color, inspired by the works of oil painter George Seurat. McGhee's runway look also impressed the crowd and took home the highly coveted “People's Choice Award.”

• “Most Creative Concept” was awarded to mixed media artist Jayne Dion for her Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun inspired dress, renowned for her depictions of Marie Antonienette. The beautiful ensemble was crafted from aluminum screen doors, hundreds of can tabs, trash bags, 16 gage wire, bed sheets, and crepe paper party streamers.

• Painter Nancy Swan won “Most Glamorous & Elegant Red Carpet Worthy Creation” for her Gilded Age gown using mylar balloons, trash bags and hand-painted color squares from 1,277 breakfast bars, all eaten by the artist and saved since 2020!

• Pencil artist Rowan Foley won “Most Exciting Ensemble Inspired by a Famous Artist” for her Rococo style dress, the style worn by Marie Antonienette. Rowan aimed to pay tribute to the Festival of Arts' own community artists and the entirety of her dress was made of paper art pieces contributed by her fellow exhibitors.

Additional artists who showcased their “creative couture” were jeweler Linda Potichke who's vest was hand sewn from over 200 flowers and cat food lids; photographer Rick Graves and his Laguna Beach Canyon Tennis Courts inspired ensemble, made of old tennis nets, tennis balls, tennis racquets and tennis racquet string; and photographer Hailley Howard, whose simple yet striking gown used plastics and materials from her studio shelf.

The Festival of Arts Fine Art Show is open daily with nightly performances of the 90th annual Pageant of the Masters now through September 1, 2023. A Pageant ticket is also a season pass to the Fine Art Show. Weekday general admission tickets to the Festival's Fine Art Show are $10 per person, and $15 per person the weekends. Both events are sponsored in part by Volvo Cars, KOST Radio 103.5, Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club and Irvine Spectrum Center.

To purchase tickets for the final few nights and to stay up to date on all things Pageant of the Masters and Festival of Arts Fine Art Show follow the Festival on social media at @FestivalPageant, and visit www.foapom.com.