Issues → July/August 2009 → Features →
Best 5 Sand Sculpture Contests
More than sand castles and turrets
by Steve Jermanok
No longer just a maze of turrets and drawbridges, sand sculpture has moved beyond 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 is the biggest contest in the Northeast: New Hampshire's Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Competition (June 13-25). 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
Family Sand Sculpture Competition, Ocean Park, Old Orchard Beach, ME207-934-9068, 207-934-2500; oldorchardbeachmaine.com, oceanpark.org
July 15-19
New England Sand Sculpting Festival, Revere Beach, MA 866-920-7263; reverebeachpartnership.com
July 18
Great American Sand Sculpture Competition, Walnut Beach, Milford, CT203-878-6647; milfordarts.org
August 15
SandBlast! Crane Beach, Ipswich, MA 978-356-4351; thetrustees.org
August 15
Sandcastle & Sculpture Day, Jetties Beach, Nantucket, MA 508-228-1700; nantucketchamber.org
More info: Sandcastles Made Simple by Lucinda Wierenga (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009; $10.95).
Tips and links: Sand castle tips
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