Our Laguna: Music festival quite the success about town

Morea Arthur played acoustic rock in the Greeter's Corner alcove. Ninth-grader Marlie Becker sang and played acoustic guitar at Fresh Produce's entrance. Olivia Morrison, one of Dewar's students, and Frankie Major played acoustic guitar and violin at the recessed entrance to the Laguna Beach library.

April Walsh warbled Edith Piaf numbers, as well as her repertoire of 1940s hits at the Peppertree Lane parking lot. The Carolin' Bells sang in front of the Historical Society bungalow on Ocean Avenue and provided cookies for their audience.

Grey Hill Gospel String Band had feet tapping and hands clapping in front of Tuvalu.

Inside performances included Anne Likes Red in C'est La Vie, Laguna Beach High School teacher Gary Shapiro playing his guitar for Zinc Café customers, and the popular Blues Offenders blasting at Hobie's.

Also scheduled to appear: Mike DeBilles soloing on saxophone at Peppertree Lane, Your Ugly Sister at Beach and Broadway, H Charton and Jennifer Savino in the Wells Fargo advisory parking lot (her percussion instrument was a jar of dried peas); Andrea Ketchum at Mermaid and Glenneyre streets; Keith Comer at the corner of Ocean and the highway; and the duo Stacy and Ted in the 200 block of Ocean. Adam Genestra sang the blues at Hobie's south entrance and wandering accordionist Barbara Hawthorne performed wherever she happened to be.

The closing ceremony on the cobblestones was a Kumbaya moment, with J.J. & the Habibis belly dancers, the mariachi band and Swing Set all performing.

"We did get comments from the audience that they missed the sing-along we had in previous years," Philippsen said. "We will bring it back next year."

The Laguna Beach chapter of Sister Cities International was founded in 2008. Suggestions for additional siblings for Laguna are sought.

For information about the organization, visit website http://www.LagunaBeachSisterCities.org.

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Boyd Medical Update

Councilman Kelly Boyd was absent from the June 19 meeting due to severe back pain, but he hopes to back on the dais in July.

Boyd will undergo an MRI Friday to determine if surgery is indicated.

Fractured ribs were responsible for an earlier absence this year; the pain from that masked the problem with his back, he said.

"When the ribs started to heal, I realized my back was killing me," said Boyd, who has lost 33 pounds due to the pain in recent months.

"If a fusion will take the pain away, I am totally in favor of it," Boyd added.