Best Sand Sculpture Contests
No longer just a maze of turrets and drawbridges, sand sculpture has moved beyond sand castles to include sea creatures, nursery-rhyme characters, and more. We asked travel writer Stephen Jermanok to name the best summer sand sculpture events in New England, where invited artists, or preregistered kids and families in some cases, compete to collect prizes, and beachgoers get to survey the larger-than-life results.
Leading the season in 2010 is the biggest contest in the Northeast: New Hampshire’s Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Competition (June 18-26, 2010). To see the results, visit Hampton in person, or online at hamptonbeach.org. “Watching someone painstakingly re-create Mother Goose out of a minivan-size chunk of sand is mesmerizing,” Jermanok says. “The memories will last a lifetime.”
July 3, 2011
Family Sand Sculpture Competition
Ocean Park, Old Orchard Beach, ME
207-934-9068, 207-934-2500
oldorchardbeachmaine.com
oceanpark.org
July 14-17, 2011
New England Sand Sculpting Festival
Revere Beach, MA
866-920-7263
reverebeachpartnership.com
August 6, 2011
Sandblast
Crane Beach, Ipswich, MA
Phone: 978.356.4351 x4015
thetrustees.org
August 20, 2011
Sandcastle & Sculpture Day
Jetties Beach, Nantucket, MA
508-228-1700
nantucketchamber.org
Read more: Sandcastles Made Simple by Lucinda Wierenga (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009; $10.95).
Tips and links: Sand castle tips
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Top Five? I count four: Hampton Beach, Old Orchard Beach, Revere Beach, and Jetties Beach. What happened to the fabulous contest at Crane’s/Castle Beach in Ipswich? Truly the best, in our family’s opinion.
Mary Etter
Thanks for catching that! Sandblast has been added back to the list.