Thursday, 4:30 PM
Competition brings master sand sculptors to Revere
(Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff file photo)
In 2005, Lucinda "Sandy Feet" Wierenga of South Padre Island, Texas, put the finishing touches on a sculpture during the New England Sand Sculpting Festival at Revere Beach. The annual competition kicks off this weekend.
By Ryan Haggerty, Globe Correspondent
Some 350 tons of sand has been trucked to Revere Beach to help transform the seaside into a temporary museum that will draw some of the biggest names in sand sculpting to the Bay State.
The sand is being imported from New Hampshire to serve as raw material for the weeklong New England Sand Sculpting Festival, which kicks off this weekend. By Sunday morning, officials hope to begin carving what will serve as the competition's centerpiece -- a 250-ton demonstration sculpture that will encapsulate the festival's pirate theme.
The real competition begins Thursday, when 10 master sculptors will each go to work on their own 10-ton mound of sand. Spectators can watch the artists work from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The winner will be crowned at 8:30 Saturday night at the bandstand in a ceremony that will be followed by fireworks.
Once a pastime for children with plastic pails, sand sculpting has become a serious artistic endeavor. To see photographs of entries in a recent competition in New Hampshire click here, or in Belgium, click here. (Share your own sand castle photos here.)
For those who aren't quite "master sculptors," the Revere festival will also include family and amateur sand sculpting competitions on Sunday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information about live bands and other attractions during the festival, click here.
For those who aren't quite "master sculptors," the Revere festival will also include family and amateur sand sculpting competitions on Sunday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information about live bands and other attractions during the festival, click here.
