On Saturday evening, angels were sighted by a crowd of several dozen people at two Laguna Beach galleries. The angels were pieces of art on view at the Cottage Gallery and Whelan Gallery. A portion of the angel artwork sales will go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire. 

SEE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT BY CLICKING ON THE BOX TO THE RIGHT --->

The "Night of 100 Angels" included a grand opening and ribbon cutting event for the Cottage Gallery, owned by Nancy Stubbs. Stubbs acquired the property in late 2008. She had the opportunity to turn it into an art gallery, so she did. She hired Adam Sandy to act as the director, and watercolorist William Hudson joined her as the resident artist. 

"This is a retirement career for me," said Stubbs, "so I want to be an asset to the community. I want to help charities and I want to help the artists. You know ... it’s win-win-win situation. The Make-a-Wish kids have such noble wishes. I wanted to help them. I want every event we do to help a charity."

Patrick Whelan is an artist and gallery owner. Last winter, he woke up one morning and thought about angels and artwork and how the two could come together to help out in the community.

"Actually, the idea came from nowhere," said Whelan. "I wasn't looking for a show. Those words [Night of 100 Angels] were in my head. They sounded very interesting. It was like a seed that somebody planted, and it just turned into this show."

The Make-a-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire will receive 10 percent of the sale price of any angel artwork for one month. 

"I think it's important to put out positive energy in general," said Whelan, "not just into one community, but into the whole world."

He spoke of the international flavor of Laguna Beach, that so many countries are represented by residents in the town.

Maritime artist William Hudson has donated two signed giclees of his paintings. The giclees will be raffled off, and all the proceeds from the raffle will go to Make-a-Wish. Raffle tickets are $5 each.

Make-a-Wish Development Manager Sarah Pizzaruso explained that Cottage Gallery Director Adam Sandy contacted her about the "Night of 100 Angels" concept.

"We’re just so inspired," said Pizzaruso, "every time somebody from the community reaches out to us and asks how can we help. One of the biggest misconceptions about Make-a-Wish is that we’re a big national organization, and no matter how many wishes we have, we can grant them."

"That’s not true at all," continued Pizzaruso. "Our chapter raises all the money locally and grants wishes for kids locally. So it means something very major when these community partners get involved with us. They’ll be able to sponsor the wish of somebody right here in Laguna Beach. It makes a big difference because it’s very tangible."

Volunteers Rebecca Boczek and Lisa Andre sold raffle tickets during the event.

"I’ve been volunteering at events and wish-granting for over 10 years," said Andre. "It's about the smile on a child’s face, to make them not think about their illness on that one day ... it's so rewarding. When you give back, it gives you so much more in life."