Sawdust Art & Craft Festival Announces New General Manager

LAGUNA BEACH, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 26, 2017) - The Sawdust Art Festival's 27^th annual Winter Fantasy Show opens November 18 and will be under the leadership of newly appointed general manager, Natalie Haug.

Haug has spent the last 10 years as the Sawdust Festival's director of operations. She is committed to the "grass roots beginning of the Sawdust Art Festival" and acknowledges the importance the arts in Laguna Beach and the value of providing an environment where local artists can thrive.

"I am looking forward to all the challenges this non-profit art festival brings with it," says Haug. "We have a very talented group of highly skilled and dedicated employees who have been with us for several years in different positions, and I pledge to continue our excellent working relationships with Sawdust exhibitors, the Board of Directors, staff and the community of Laguna Beach."

A native of Texas, Haug moved to Southern California in 1989, where she married and began raising her four children. She studied business management and began preparing for her new Sawdust position as a self-employed risk manager for 12 years in the insurance industry. She moved to Laguna Beach and began working for the Sawdust Art Festival in 2007.

Haug looks forward to overseeing the upcoming Sawdust Winter Fantasy event. She invites the public to the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, November 18 at 10 a.m. and the community tree-lighting ceremony later that day beginning at 5 p.m. Winter Fantasy will extend its hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday for holiday shopping.

For more information about the Sawdust Art Enrichment Fund or the Sawdust Art Festival please visit: https://sawdustartfestival.org/about/saef. 

About Sawdust Art & Craft Festival: Founded in 1967, the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and promoting art created in Laguna Beach. Best known for offering two highly attended seasonal festivals, the organization also hosts a variety of workshops and classes throughout the year. Sawdust's legendary summer festival is a nine-week summer celebration of fine art and craft -- the largest in Southern California -- with more than 200 Laguna Beach artists who exhibit and sell their original art and handcrafted items. The festival also offers live entertainment, fashion shows, artist demonstrations, hands-on art workshops for all ages, and a variety of food & drink offerings. Sawdust's Annual Winter Fantasy Festival occurs for five weekends leading up to the holiday season, and boasts an international collection of over 175 artisans who create, showcase, and sell their original, handcrafted artwork on the Sawdust grounds, which are lavishly decorated to resemble a winter wonderland. Special activities include "Winter Art Series" classes, where guests can create holiday-themed works, and a highly anticipated annual community tree-lighting ceremony. Throughout the remainder of the year, the organization continues to provide its Sawdust Studio Art Classes in a variety of mediums, on-site and off-site. For more information, visit: www.sawdustartfestival.org.