Laguna Beach redirects here. For other uses, see Laguna Beach (disambiguation).

Laguna Beach is a city located in southern Orange County, California, approximately 24 miles southeast of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 23,727 at the 2000 census. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Laguna Beach and the Orange County Area is “Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA.”

The city's most famous institution is the Festival of the Arts, an annual art exhibition in the summer which has given the city a reputation for being "artsy." Apart from bringing together artists and art collectors, the Festival is also famous for the Pageant of the Masters, an annual living statue show where local volunteers reproduce several dozen famous artworks in an evening (with the help of elaborate costumes and makeup). The Pageant is apparently the only show of its type and scale in western North America. Another famous annual event is the Sawdust Art Festival. It's summer art show features local artists exhibiting paintings, sculpture and fine craft in an artist village which is built each year.

Because of occasional financial problems, the Festival has occasionally considered licensing the Pageant concept to other cities, but each time has ultimately refused. Licensing the Pageant would decrease the uniqueness of Laguna Beach and thus its attractiveness to tourists.

Another local tradition is a 14-year old musical parody called "Lagunatics". Created in 1992 and produced by the website nosquare.org, the show features local leaders from the mayor to the chief of police in songs and skits that make fun of the local lifestyle; some targets have included the supposedly rich, white, and pretentious residents; beach-closing sewage spills; re-foresting kelp; the Pageant of the Masters, the art festivals, parking (or the lack thereof) and fire-hazard eating goats. Money raised by the annual shows provide funds for a variety of local charites including the Laguna Playhouse, No Square Theatre, Ballet Pacifica, the Community Clinic, Senior Center Building Fund, and others. However, many residents have little to no familiarity with the "Lagunatics," other than as an obscure self-important group that goes to endless ends promoting itself. A far greater majority know about the town because of a particularly visible MTV reality show.