Shovels in hand and buckets ready, families, friends and professional sand artists will be poised to race the tides on July 18 at SandSations, the Long Beach Peninsula’s annual sand creations extravaganza.
As the tide recedes at noon, registered groups will have just five hours to build their most fantastic imagined or borrowed themed creations – mermaids, dragons, sandcastles, buried treasures, and more – using piles of sand and buckets of sea water in their marked off 20 by 20-foot site. The building takes place at the shoreline adjacent to the Long Beach boardwalk, near the Bolstad beach approach.
For those interested in learning how sand sculptures are created or wanting to brush up on skills for Saturday’s competition, master sculptors will share trade secrets at a workshop on July 17 from 3 to
5 PM at the Bolstad beach approach.
At 5 p.m., as the tides begin to rise, the judges will vote on the best in five categories – master, intermediate, novice, family and children – for overall appearance, creativity, teamwork, effort and intricacy. People’s Choice and Mayor’s Choice honors as well as cash prizes will also be awarded. For all categories except Masters, the event is free, although a donation of $1 per child is suggested.
Same place, same day, at 2:30 PM, visitors are invited to watch or enter the 7th annual Sand Flea Pet Parade sponsored by the South Pacific County Humane Society. All pets are welcome to this free event and prizes will be awarded in a variety of categories. All day, beachgoers can enjoy free hot dogs served by the Long Beach Kiwanis.
800-451-2542
www.funbeach.com
