The Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach Presents The Celebrity Benefit Concert and Pageant Tonight

The Celebrity Benefit Concert and Pageant, the most entertaining and star-studded night of the summer art season, will be held at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach tonight, August 23rd. This red carpet one-night affair will offer guests an evening of music and a special performance of this summer's popular Pageant of the Masters, titled "The Art Detective."

At 5 pm the red carpet will be open for public viewing and will be walked by attending celebrities, including the evening's hosts the current and former cast members of the popular tv show CRIMINAL MINDS (Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, and Paget Brewster) and guest performing artist Al Jarreau. Other guest celebrities scheduled to appear are Delta Burke (DESIGNING WOMEN), Gordon Clapp (NYPD BLUE), Clifton Collins (CAPOTE), Milena Govich (LAW & ORDER), Jon Huertas (CASTLE), Gregory Itzin (THE MENTALIST), Joshua Malina (SCANDAL), Gerald McRaney (AGENT X and SIMON & SIMON), Geoff Pierson (UNHAPPILY EVER AFTER & DEXTER) and many, many others.

Guests will enjoy an intimate concert on the Festival green at 6 pm, performed by music legend Al Jarreau. His innovative musical expressions have made him one of the most exciting and critically-acclaimed performers of our time with seven Grammy Awards, scores of international music awards and popular accolades worldwide. Jarreau is only the second artist Michael Jackson was the first to win Grammy Awards in the jazz, pop and R&B categories. And he has done so because of his unerring ability to bring authenticity to each of those styles. One of Jarreau's most commercially successful albums is Breakin' Away (1981), which includes the hit song "We're In This Love Together." He wrote and performed the Grammy-nominated theme to the 1980s American television show Moonlighting. Among other things, he is well known for his scat singing and the ability to imitate conventional guitar, bass, and percussive instrumentation.

After the concert, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore, A.J. Cook, and Paget Brewster will draw the winning tickets for a 2014 Mazda6 GT ($30,020 value), Lugano Diamonds earrings ($18,000 value) and a Hawaiian Getaway at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Maui, including airfare for two compliments of KOST Radio 103.5 ($6,000 value). This is the conclusion of summer long raffle. Since the Festival season opened on July 6th, visitors have been purchasing their raffle tickets in hopes to be one of three lucky winners. Raffle tickets will continue to be sold right up until 8 pm that night: $5 for one ticket, $20 for five tickets (winning ticketholder need not be present to win).

Culminating the evening, guests will enjoy a special performance of the 2014 Pageant of the Masters production of "The Art Detective," introduced by the celebrity hosts from CRIMINAL MINDS.

"August 23rd will be an incredible night," says Sharbie Higuchi, director of marketing and PR for the Festival of Arts. "We can't wait to share the evening with Al Jarreau, the cast of Criminal Minds, our celebrity supporters ... and we look forward to welcoming our most enthusiastic Festival and Pageant fans!"

Tickets are on sale now and range from $40-$250. Limited and open seating for the concert and assigned seating for the Pageant of the Masters. The event is sponsored KOST Radio 103.5, Mazda, Lugano Diamonds and The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. To purchase tickets, go online to www.PageantTickets.com or call 1-800-487-3378.

The Festival of Arts is a non-profit organization that produces The Festival of Arts - California's Premier Fine Art Show and the Pageant of the Masters. For general information, call (949) 494-1145 or visit the website at www.LagunaFestivalofArts.org. The event is located at 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California. Proceeds support the arts and art education in and about Laguna Beach.

About CRIMINAL MINDS
CRIMINAL MINDS is an American police-procedural television program that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. The show differs from many procedural dramas by focusing on profiling the criminal, called the unsub or "unknown subject", rather than the crime itself. The show is produced by The Mark Gordon Company in association with CBS Television Studios (originally Paramount Network Television then CBS Paramount Network Television) and ABC Studios (originally Touchstone Television).