The Laguna Beach Garden Club announces Ladies of Laguna for the 2025 Gate & Garden Tour on May 3
This year will mark the 3rd Annual Hat Contest held in conjunction with the Annual Laguna Beach Garden Club Gate & Garden Tour on May 3. Each year the tour director chooses a few women who embody the spirit of service that the club represents and honors them with the title of “Ladies of Laguna.”
Click on photo for a larger image
Photo by Mary Hurlbut
Laura Ford, founder of the Pollinator Protection Fund, dons a butterfly-inspired hat
The Gate & Garden Tour is the primary fundraiser of the Laguna Beach Garden Club, which has provided funding for school gardens and scholarships totaling more than $300,000 over a 20-year period. It also supported the creation of The Good of the Hive mural by Matt Willey outside the Laguna Beach County Water District building and many other community projects.
Click on photo for a larger image
Courtesy of Ally Cook
Ally Cook, owner of the Lucky Cowboy, is the committee chair for the Hat Contest
This year, the club is excited to have Ally Cook, owner of the Lucky Cowboy, a Custom Hat Bar in Laguna Beach as the committee chair for the Hat Contest. Lucky Cowboy Hat Bar is an elevated bespoke experience where every custom hat tells a story. Her style and experience will level-up the fun experience to delight all guests.
This year Susan Denton, Gate & Garden tour director, has chosen three magnificent women that share the mantra of the garden club by serving the community in a selfless way that makes living in Laguna Beach an even more delightful experience. Their contributions benefit all citizens of Laguna Beach.
Click on photo for a larger image
Photo by Mary Hurlbut
Amy Amirani is a Commissioner of the LBCWD
Amy Amirani currently serves as a commissioner of the Laguna Beach County Water District; she holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and is VP of CivilSource, an NV5 Company. Amirani describes herself as compassionate, diligent, considerate and dedicated.
Laura Ford is the founder of the Pollinator Protection Fund and has worked closely with the Laguna Beach Garden Club to provide the community with thriving pollinator gardens that provide habitats for endangered Western monarch butterflies throughout the community. Ford graduated at 21 with a JD Honors in Law and has also authored a book. She describes herself as open-minded, cooperative and creative.
Click on photo for a larger image
Photo by Mary Hurlbut
Simone Adams is the co-manager of the Friends of the Library Butterfly Fairy Garden
Simone Adams is the co-manager of the Friends of the Library Butterfly Fairy Garden. In 2020, she and the garden’s co-creator Jessica DeStefano transformed a small area near the building’s entrance into the beautiful fairy garden that currently exists. It began as just planting some milkweed to help the monarch butterflies, but as the rush of monarchs descended on the garden, they decided to add wild nectar flowers after they emerged from their chrysalises. They began to add fairy houses, and the rest is history. Adams describes herself as creative, reliable, dedicated, generous and strong.
The Laguna Beach Garden Club proudly names these three remarkable women as the 2025 Ladies of Laguna, exemplifying their commitment to community service for “The Good of the Hive.” Congratulations ladies for making this year’s hat contest a stellar beacon of what our ladies in Laguna do for the community.
For ticket information for the Saturday, May 3 Gate & Garden Tour, go to https://lagunabeachgardenclub.org.
