If you’re a huge Pageant of the Masters fan, or even if you’re not, there might be some fun shopping Saturday, Nov. 27, you hadn’t considered.
The Pageant of the Masters for the first time ever will put items from its warehouse up for sale to the public. Think stage props, artwork, unique costumes, huge outdoor banners, art history books and other unique finds.
In the past, these relics from the living art show were only available to pageant volunteers during the January casting calls, but this year the public has access to thousands of pieces in what’s being dubbed the Bizarre Bazaar.
Pageant of the Masters Director Diane Challis Davy shows off a costumes that were used during a show in 2003 in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters Director Diane Challis Davy shows off a globe that has a hidden chess/checkers board inside that was used in a show in 2017 in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters Director Diane Challis Davy shows off a costumes that were used in a previous year’s show in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Reproductions of famous artwork at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters Director Diane Challis Davy shows off props that were used in a previous year’s show in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cut outs that have been used for various Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cut outs that have been used for various Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant Director Diane Challis Davy holds on to a costume drawing she made in the 1970s in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters Director Diane Challis Davy shows off clown costumes that were used in a show in 2005 in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters Director Diane Challis Davy shows off a costumes that were used in a show in 2008 in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Pageant of the Masters Director Diane Challis Davy shows off props that were used in a previous year’s show in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Behind the scenes photos from Pageant of the Master that used to hang in the Hotel Laguna in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Orange create with Pageant of the Masters artwork from ——— in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Reproductions of famous artwork at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A metal knight costume sits in the workshop at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, November 22, 2021. This is one of the items that will be on sale at their Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“I hope people will find something to cherish and they’ll remember the pageant and know they’ll have something historical for the future,” said Diane Challis Davy, the pageant’s director.
With storage at a premium and looking for a new way to raise funds, pageant officials decided to open opportunities to purchase the artifacts to a broader audience.
The Saturday event is organized by the Da Vinci Guild, a booster group formed in 2021 to raise money for the pageant and the accompanying Festival of Arts. Items will range in price from $1 to $1,500. Money raised will go back into the organization’s general budget to benefit next year’s “Wonderful World” pageant production that’s planned to open in July.
The guild was formed after the 2020 summer pageant and art show were canceled by the coronavirus, a costly hit to the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts nonprofit. Having already spent a large part of its budget on the upcoming show, the group had to ask pre-paid 2020 ticket holders to take credit toward the 2021 show or consider donating the value of their tickets to the arts organization as it tried to ride out the pandemic. Those wanting refunds experienced delays.
The Pageant of the Masters has been performed in Laguna Beach since the 1930s. More than 200 volunteers create the artwork – known as living pictures – by freezing in a pose for 90 seconds. The show has gone dark twice, once during World War II and once during the pandemic.
As she toured the pageant’s backstage on Monday, Nov. 22, picking through boxes and costumes, Challis Davy pointed out ice skater and Dickens caroler costumes from “Season’s,” the pageant’s 2003 show and a velvet dress and brocade coat used in “All the World is a Stage” in 2008.
There is a wooden globe that converts to a chessboard from “The Grand Tour” show put on in 2017. And there are faux life preservers used on the set of the Titanic that came from the Pageant of the Monsters haunted house in 2013.
Also for sale are a series of behind-the-scene pageant photos that for decades hung in rooms at Hotel Laguna. When the turnover in hotel ownership occurred, the pageant got the photos back, Challis Davy said, adding that she is still pricing many of the artifacts and finding new ones.
There are also huge outdoor banners used to advertise shows, including “The Grand Tour” in 2017 and “Eat, Drink and be Merry” in 2010.
“These could be displayed outside, they’re very durable,” Challis Davy said.
There are also the big wooden, painted scenes used as the backgrounds for the living pictures. Challis Davy suggested these could be used as garden decor.
In addition to the surplus items being sold, shoppers can also purchase and name a Pageant Legacy Society seat. Those range from $500 to $2,000.
If you go:
Where: Festival of the Arts grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach
When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 27
Payment: Only credit and debit cards
This post first appeared on ocregister.com
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