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Laguna Beach officials seek year-round programming at Irvine Bowl; special concert announcement expected in September
Summary
Mayor Alex Runagi said a city working group and the Irvine Bowl policy committee are developing recommendations to increase off-season concerts and year-round activation at the Irvine Bowl; an early November concert tied to the Coast Film Festival will have a performer announced in early September.
City leaders in Laguna Beach said they are working to increase year-round use of the Irvine Bowl, with policy recommendations forthcoming and a concert scheduled for early November.
"One of our priorities has been how do we activate that space? Because it's really a world class concert venue," Mayor Alex Runagi said on Fair Game Laguna Beach. Runagi said he and Council Member Kemp serve on the Irvine Bowl policy committee and that a working group visited the Santa Barbara Bowl in July to study operations.
Runagi said the group is developing recommendations to allow more concerts during off-season periods while coordinating with Festival of the Arts, which currently programs the site. He said there will be a concert in early November as part of the Coast Film Festival and that "there will be a special announcement about who will be performing at that concert in early September." He urged residents to be prepared to purchase tickets quickly once the performer is announced.
The mayor described the effort as both a programming and policy exercise: officials are seeking collaborative recommendations to balance Festival of the Arts interests with broader year-round use. He did not provide details on permit changes, noise or traffic mitigation measures, or specific contract terms. Those operational and regulatory details were not specified during the interview.
The discussion was presented as a city-level policy initiative rather than an adopted change; Runagi said the working group is developing recommendations to move forward with festival organizers and other stakeholders.
