Free Summer Concerts Could Return to Laguna Beach

The Festival of Arts Celebrity Benefit Concert and Pageant in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Aug. 23, 2014. Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Festival of Arts

Laguna Beach City Council is set to consider the return of free summer concerts and performances.

The council during a May 18 meeting will hear a proposal from the city’s art commission, which would entail resuming outdoor events and concerts this summer if state and county COVID-19 guidelines permit doing so.

Tentatively scheduled events include Music in the Park at the Festival of Arts in July and August, as well as Sunset Serenades in September at Heisler Park. The serenades have been held at Heisler since 2008, according to the city council agenda.

“Music in the Park is a long-standing tradition for the residents, and as an art gallery owner, I’m always interested in any way we can engage in culture, whether it’s in the arts or music or performance. So I’m 100 percent behind all of this, and frankly thankful that we’re out of COVID enough to where we can start considering this,” Laguna Beach Councilman Peter Blake told The Epoch Times.

Also listed is Circus Bella on Sept. 25 at Main Beach Park. Circus Bella includes a one-ring circus consisting of 20 performers and a live band of six musicians. Performers include aerialists, acrobats, jugglers, and clowns.

Lastly, a Welcome Home Concert is being proposed for Oct. 23 at Heisler Park, in an effort to reconnect the community following the pandemic.

The proposed events come not long after the city council voted on March 9 to suspend concerts through spring and summer.

Blake said the reconsideration follows updated guidelines released since the council’s March 9 decision.

“I would think a lot of this has to do with the recent reports that are coming out that allow you to be outdoors without fear of catching [COVID-19],” Blake said. “Also if you look at the numbers of vaccinations, I think we’re at 40 percent in Orange County right now. So when you look at everything, a lot has happened in the last 60 days that would lead one to start thinking that, ‘OK, we’re going to start having outdoor concerts, we’re going to start having outdoor activities.’

“The things that are coming from the CDC in terms of masks and even masks indoors seem to be letting up, and also the amount of people again that have been vaccinated, I think we’re starting to get to the point where we’re more comfortable about having outdoor activities.”