Sawdust Art Festival's 36th Winter Fantasy opens tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 20, at 935 Laguna Canyon Road. It runs through Dec. 20 and is open only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sawdust's visit page lists free entry for Laguna Beach residents "Every Thursday" with valid ID, but the winter festival is never open on a Thursday.
So for the next five weekends, a Laguna resident pays the same gate price as everyone else. That one scheduling detail changes the best way to do the festival as a local. For anyone planning three or more visits, the pass is the cheaper way in.
Fifteen days, and each weekend has its own reason to go
Sawdust calls this season "five three-day weekends." Counted on the 2026 calendar, those weekends are 15 open days, and only a few of them overlap with something else happening in town.
Weekend | Open dates | What else is happening that weekend |
|---|---|---|
1 | Nov. 20–22 | Opening-weekend tree lighting at Sawdust, Saturday, Nov. 21, 5 p.m. |
2 | Nov. 27–29 | Thanksgiving weekend, open on the regular Friday-to-Sunday hours |
3 | Dec. 4–6 | Hospitality Night downtown on Friday, Dec. 4 |
4 | Dec. 11–13 | A standard festival weekend |
5 | Dec. 18–20 | Closing weekend |
The Dec. 4 overlap is the one that shapes a Friday. Laguna Beach's Hospitality Night page runs the evening from roughly 5 to 9 p.m. Downtown street closures start at 3 p.m., the tree lighting is set for 6:10 p.m., and free trolley and neighborhood on-demand service run from 4 to 11 p.m. Sawdust closes at 7 p.m., so that Friday works as an afternoon in the canyon followed by an evening downtown, with the trolley handling the trip between them.
Each of those weekends feels different. Opening weekend is built around Sawdust's own tree lighting, Thanksgiving weekend falls when out-of-town family is around, and the Dec. 4 Friday connects to the downtown celebration. A resident who wants more than one of those is already planning several visits.
Ticket Information
Here are the 2026 single-day prices on Sawdust's Winter Fantasy ticket page, each including a $0.50 ticket fee:
- Adult: $12.50
- Seniors, 65 and over: $10.50
- Youth, 6 to 12: $5.50
- Children 5 and under: free, no ticket needed
The 2026 Winter Pass costs $35.50, also with the fee included, and Sawdust requires ID at the gate. At the gate, three adult day tickets cost $37.50, so an adult who goes a third time comes out ahead with the pass. At senior gate pricing, three visits cost $31.50 and four cost $42, so the pass becomes the better deal on the fourth visit.
Buying early shifts that math. The Laguna Beach Independent reports $2 off admission for tickets bought in advance through Nov. 20, which runs through opening day. At $2 off, three adult tickets come to $31.50, below the pass price, so for an adult who buys all three dates ahead of time, the pass only pulls ahead on a fourth visit. Veterans get in free on any festival day with military ID shown at the box office, so none of this math applies to them.
A pass also changes how each visit feels. When the gate is already paid for, a stop can be one gift, one artist conversation, or one plate of tacos, and nobody has to justify a full afternoon to make the ticket worth it.
Short visits work because of what's inside
The Independent counts more than 180 artists in Sawdust's eucalyptus-lined village this season, selling paintings, jewelry, ceramics, glasswork, sculpture, photography and textiles, with live demonstrations around the grounds. This year's message to shoppers is "Give the Gift of Art." Sawdust president Jay Grant explained the pitch to the Laguna Beach Independent:
"At the heart of Winter Fantasy is what has defined Sawdust for decades: the opportunity to connect directly with artists and discover something truly original."
That kind of shopping suits repeat visits. Someone who sees a ceramicist's work on opening weekend can come back on the third weekend and buy it once the gift list is settled. The same article lists trees decorated by local community organizations, Candy Cane Lane, photos with Santa, carolers, roaming musicians, puppet shows and the Balloon Diva, along with holiday art classes and hands-on workshops.
The food lineup may be the strongest local reason to come back. Taco Loco is on Sawdust's Winter Fantasy vendor list, with Sawdust describing it as Chef Gonzalo Rebollar's "iconic restaurant, a former PCH staple." The Daily Pilot reported that Taco Loco's last day at 640 S. Coast Hwy. was Sept. 30, 2023, after 36 years in business. For residents who miss Rebollar's tacos, the Sawdust grounds are where this season's festival lineup puts them.
Next to Taco Loco, Sawdust's vendor list marks AhbA as "New!" and promises its "classic, American-style burger." AhbA is chef and owner Nick Bennett's South Laguna cottage at 31732 Pacific Coast Hwy. and has been open since the summer of 2019. The Independent's preview of Sawdust's 60th summer season also included AhbA in that lineup.
The rest of the food menu covers a quick visit. The Cove by Starfish, Espresso on the Go with coffee and pastries, the Saloon with 20 taps, the Sand Bar and Waterfall Bar, and the Snack Shack all appear on Sawdust's vendor list. The Independent adds that mulled wine returns this season, served in holiday mugs. General manager Thomas Hartmann told the Laguna Beach Independent that the goal is for guests to "explore, discover something unexpected and make Winter Fantasy part of their holiday traditions."
Getting to the canyon more than once
Repeat visits only work if getting there is easy. Laguna Beach and Sawdust have three main options for festival weekends:
- Lot 16, also called Act V, at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road. Parking costs $5 a day. The city's free Canyon Route trolley runs from there to Sawdust and downtown every 30 minutes, Fridays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., from Nov. 20 through Dec. 20, according to the city's Winter Express page.
- Metered parking at the festival. There is a limited number of spaces on Frontage Road and along Laguna Canyon Road. The meters take credit cards only, and you can also pay through the Laguna Beach Parking app.
- The Winter Express. This free park-and-ride starts at 16355 Laguna Canyon Road in Irvine, near the I-405/SR-133 interchange. Trolleys leave every 30 minutes, on the hour and half hour, every festival weekend, stopping at Sawdust and downtown, where riders can transfer to the Coast Highway trolley. Parking and the ride are both free.
The Laguna Beach Trolley app shows trolley locations in real time, which helps when planning a quick stop between other weekend errands. Sawdust is open rain or shine, doesn't allow pets on the grounds, and answers questions at its information booth at 949-494-3030.
Artists founded Sawdust in 1965, and the summer festival celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. The winter edition closes on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m.
At Marcus Skenderian Real Estate, we pay attention to the details that shape a Laguna weekend, from trolley routes to how a canyon venue gets used through the seasons. If those same details matter to you when you think about your own home, we'd be glad to walk through them together, beginning with a Complimentary Home Valuation.
