Let’s celebrate the start of summer on the water and at art festivals. We hope you enjoy this 70° weather. Dana Point is a unique treasure of timeless beauty and creative innovation. You’re invited to discover the new and classic beauty that makes this city and community one of a kind.
Events
In June 2025, several museum gallery openings and events are scheduled in California, including the Getty Villa’s reopening. The California Museum’s”Mission Gráfica: Reflecting a Community in Print” exhibit will be open from June 8th to September 14th. The Autry Museum will open “Black Cowboys: An American Story” on June 14th. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) has Prospect 2025 opening on June 12th. The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) will reopen on June 1st with the group exhibition “Arte del Pueblo”. Finally, the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) will have a summer exhibition opening on June 23rd-25th.
The 2025 Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival is themed “Stories of the Sea: Wooden Boats in Film & Fiction.” It will be held on June 13th-14th, 2025 at the Balboa Yacht Club. The theme is honoring the role boats have played in iconic movies and books. Among the many things to see and do, visitors will have the opportunity to explore John Steinbeck’s Western Flyer, dive into the rowing traditions of The Boys in the Boat, and view a photo exhibit of Hollywood stars with the wooden boats they loved. Tickets to the Friday night event are $95. Admission to the Saturday Festival is $15, with additional donations gratefully accepted to support youth sailing. Listen to the Good Jibes with Latitude 38 with Steve Paljieg.
Jennifer Keil on Good Jibes podcast by Latitude 38 with Ryan Foland covered Documenting Your Family Sailing History at UC Irvine’s Antrepreneur Center. Listen to the podcast to learn about family history, boating heritage, and community preservation. Historic boats are one way to keep family history alive by keeping good captain’s logs. Listen now to learn how we are preserving Foland family history with Bingo II, a 1977 Cal 34 Mark III.
Book of the Month
“It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool again.” –John Steinbeck
The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1977 paperback edition), co-authored by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts, is a unique blend of science, philosophy, and adventure. It recounts the 1940 marine expedition the pair took aboard the Western Flyer, a sardine boat, along the coast of the Baja California Peninsula to the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez). This is a narrative travel journal mixed with scientific cataloging of marine specimens. The book contains poetic reflection on ecology, human nature, and interconnectedness. Steinbeck’s prose gives soul to the scientific journey, while Ricketts’s deep ecological insights shaped the emerging field of marine biology.
Artists of the Month
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
– Pablo Picasso
Join us for the 59th Annual Sawdust Art Festival, Laguna Beach’s most iconic summer tradition! It will run from June 27 to August 31. Visit a handcrafted world where over 180 local artists showcase their work in the Laguna Canyon where the outdoor village is nestled beneath the eucalyptus trees.
Events + Exhibits
The LPAPA Gallery is proud to present a special Masters Exhibition “LPAPA Beyond the Landscape” featuring major works created by artists Jove Wang, Scott Burdick and Dan McCaw. This special Masters Exhibition will open with an online preview on Monday, June 2nd followed by the LPAPA Gallery opening on Thursday, June 5th, 2025, with free entry to a special Art Walk Reception (6-9pm) celebrating the artists and the opening of this special exhibition.
Doheny State Beach Foundation and California State Parks will present the Doheny Surf & Art Festival on June 21-22, 2025 from 9:00 am-5:00 pm. The Doheny Surf & Art Festival is a free two-day festival consisting of an array of activities including a variety of art and surf booths, music, great food and more. Pack up the van with the boards, kids, and dogs for a day of celebration Doho-style! You will have an opportunity to meet artists, commission your own art, and enjoy the beauty of the beach culture.
The 58th Newport Beach Art Exhibition an will present opportunity for artists to show and sell their artwork to the public in a one-day exhibit. The annual exhibition features recently created original artwork in various mediums, including oils and acrylics, pastels, watercolor, charcoal, pen and ink, sculpture, photography and mixed media. The 2025 Newport Beach Art Exhibition will be held on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at the Newport Beach Civic Center (100 Civic Center, Newport Beach, 92660).
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of UC Irvine (1965-2025), Anteater Experience traces more than six decades of campus development, illustrating key features and milestones that have helped shape the campus culture and environment. It includes William Pereira’s master plan as shown beginning in 1961. The exhibit will be on display from February through September 2025 at the Langson Library.
The CSUF Center for Oral and Public History is exhibiting “Overlooked Injustice: The Children’s Village at Manzanar,” with curator Kiana Nakamura. This exhibit features interviews from our Japanese American Oral History Collection and shares stories of the children who were interned at Manzanar. You can view the exhibit Monday-Friday from 8 am – 5 pm.
The Sherman Library and Gardens is exhibiting “Harvest Beauty: The Artistic Labels of California Growers.” It contains labels from the 1880s to the mid-1950s. The library exhibit is open Tuesdays – Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The California citrus growers used colorful paper labels on wooden boxes to identify and advertise their fruit, reflecting a rich social and commercial art history. The practice declined in the 1940s and ended by 1956 with the shift to cardboard boxes.
Monarch Bay Plaza Amateur Photography Contest
Enter for an opportunity to win $1,000 First Place, $500 Second Place, and $250 Third Place prizes. The Photography Exhibit on August 15th will result in a popular vote winner with a $100 prize. Three Dana Point Arts Ambassadors will be serving as judges. The contest is open now through July 1, 2025.