The 30th Annual Sandcastle Competition

On Sat­ur­day morn­ing, we woke up late, skipped break­fast and got on the free­way towards Impe­r­ial Beach. I finally got to put on my new bikini top, look­ing for­ward to a hot day at the seashore. This time, we didn’t take our books or the beach chairs, only a bot­tle of sun­screen and the desire to see some sand art. We headed to the 30^th Annual US Open Sand­cas­tle Competition.

Every year, teams from all over the coun­try arrive at Impe­r­ial Beach to pro­duce a vari­ety of artis­tic cre­ations from sand. The event is held over a week­end, with the offi­cial sand cas­tle com­pe­ti­tion on Sun­day. More than 300,000 vis­i­tors come by to admire the results of the artists’ imag­i­na­tion and cre­ativ­ity. This was not hard to believe on Sun­day when the sculp­tures were fin­ished; I don’t think I have ever seen a beach this busy. Still, the atmos­phere was pleas­ant and every­one seemed to politely take turns at the view point by the sand figures.

Impressed by the artists’ cre­ative­ness and skills, we slowly moved from one cre­ation to another – a depic­tion of cur­rent events (Oil Spill), funny fig­ures (Chicks in Biki­nis), sea crea­tures, sleep­ing beau­ties, gigan­tic mouse, Sponge Bob, mini Las Vegas and… of course, magic castles.

We walked around and took lots of pic­tures but not before we tasted (or stuffed our­selves with?) some of the street fair food. With over 140 ven­dors lin­ing the street of Impe­r­ial Beach, there was plenty to choose from. Besides crafts and jew­ellery, vis­i­tors are tempted by the smell of bar­be­qued meat, fresh fries and corn on the cob. We had our usual – Greek Gyros for James (juicy grilled lamb with lots of fresh veg­gies and all kinds of sauces in pita bread). Sweet potato fries for me (Note to self: top­ping sweet potato fries with cheese is not the best idea).

Around 4.30, the beau­ti­ful cre­ations were being washed away by the tide; the nature claimed the sand back.

As with any kind of event, traf­fic on major roads to and from the beach was slow and park­ing was only avail­able fur­ther away from the beach so be pre­pared to walk if you decide to check out this event next year.