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Laguna College of Art and Design students celebrated graduation with a commencement ceremony last Friday , May 19 at the Festival of the Arts ’ Irvine Bowl .
LCAD Board of Trustees member and Art Directors Guild President Nelson Coates was this year ’ s commencement speaker . The LCAD ’ s stu-
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dent speaker was Peyton Webster , who graduated from the Graphic Design and Digital Media program with an emphasis on Action Sports . Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen also addressed the 152 art school graduates during the ceremony .
The night before commencement , LCAD hosted a dinner for graduates at the Laguna
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Art Museum , surrounded by the current Shepard Fairey exhibit and LCAD ’ s MFA in Drawing and Painting Exhibition . LCAD student Michael Cameron Bench spoke during the event . Bench is a 2023 graduate of the college ’ s animation program . Photo / Eric Stoner |
By Christopher Trela | NB Indy
Native New Yorker Alec Glasser , founder of The Drake Restaurant in Laguna Beach , became passionate about music while attending public school programs in Queens . He learned to play saxophone , clarinet and flute , and even played gigs with teen bands at upscale resorts .
Glasser also spent summers working at The Drake Hotel on Park Avenue as an elevator operator and bellman . The Drake management agreed to let Glasser stay at the hotel provided he was on call if needed .
The Drake Hotel was reportedly host to numerous bands and celebrities of the day , including Jimi Hendrix , The Who , Led Zeppelin , Mohamad Ali , Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis , Jr .
As he became friendly with these and other stars , Glasser was allowed to run afterhours parties in unoccupied hotel suites with the food and beverage provided by the Drake .
After three summers at The Drake , Glasser had earned enough to pay for law school in
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