When traveling on any beach or cruise vacation, one of our must-have items is some sand toys for our toddler so she can partake in her magical art creations. Fascination with taking wet sand and creating castles and figures starts with kids’ first trips to the beach. For some, this fascination never ends and in fact, becomes an art form. We attended the 22nd Annual American Sandsculpture Championship Festival this past weekend at Ft. Myers Beach which featured 20 plus amateurs and master sand sculptors. Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, the free event takes place beachside at the Outrigger Beach Resort and the Ft. Myers Beach Holiday Inn…the perfect tropical location for kids and parents alike.
Beware parents. These sand sculptures are not meant to be knocked over or stepped on. So it is important to keep curious hands and bodies behind the very loose taped boundaries and ensure you never have little ones out of sight.
Artists carved, sculpted and created statues and figures made of sand beyond most people’s imagination. A few personal favorites at this year’s competition include a bigger than life size pirate, complete with a “wooden” peg leg and a parrot on the shoulder; a depiction of Wall Street with a large man holding the money and a smaller man holding the bail out on Earth; and a living sea featuring a mermaid with ocean friends. However, for our three-year-old, her favorite was a wilderness scene depicting wolves and pine trees as she is completely obsessed with puppies! Truly, the details result in amazing works of art and not the typical sand castles most of us created at one time or another with a bucket! I can say we are inspired for our next tropical beach vacation or day visit to a local beach to see what we can create!
For those looking to escape the start of winter, head south to Florida the first weekend of November each year to not only enjoy the warm, tropical weather; but, to also take in some sand wonders that are only here for four days.
Three winners were announced at the closing of the event: Thomas Koet from Florida for his sand sculpture named “Paris”; Canadian Michel Lepire for his piece called “Pristine Nature” (this was Kylie’s favorite); and John Gowdy from Italy for his creation titled “Jack’s view above the clouds and over the moon.”
To see additional photos, visit the event’s photo gallery.
Photo Credit: www.TLTravels.com
What is your favorite sand castle building memory?
4 comments:
Wow! those sand sculptures look great! I think the best time I had building a sand castle was at Ft. Lauderdale Bch with my then 3yr old. They have a similiar event there as well. After looking at all the sculptures, my 3yr old had to make one tooo.... although we were not dressed to do the beach thing, my husband and I caved. Long pants and all we dug in deep and had a really good time. The sand sculpture... not sure what we could call it.. but we had a really great time. "Yesi"
I liked the turtle and underwate sea best, cuz it fits, but they r all amazing!! thanks for sharing!
Absolutely amazing!!!! I guess my bucket shaped castle with a seagull feather on top, just doesn't compare . For my girls, when they are building sand castles they enter a new world of knights and princesses. With seeing these amazing sculptures, my girls now have bigger dreams of pirates and mermaids on a much larger scale.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! We sure wish we could have been there!! Truly amazing!! Wish we were having that kind of weather too!!!
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