Sand masters
Revere sculpting event draws competitors from around world
If you're going to the beach for rest and relaxation, don't go with Sean Fitzpatrick.
With all that sand around, the master sand sculptor just can't help himself.
''We'll be at the beach, and we'll be working at the sand and there'll be 120 to 200 people standing around us," said Fitzpatrick, who began his foray into sand sculpting during his honeymoon in the Bahamas 18 years ago. ''I like the effect that it has on people. I guess I'm sort of -- what do you call that? -- an exhibitionist."
Fitzpatrick, who runs Fitzy Snowman Sculpting with his wife, Tracey, from their Saugus home, was just the man Revere officials were looking for to help transform last summer's first Sand Castle Day, a simple, two-hour event, into a four-day extravaganza that starts today. The competition will feature nine worldwide master sand sculptors competing for $10,000 in cash prizes. Some masters make more than $100,000 a year. The event has been boldly renamed Sand Castle Festival: The Largest Master Sandsculpting Contest in Massachusetts.
There will also be an amateur competition, with children's and family teams, as well as ''young masters." The festival, expected to draw thousands, also will have concerts and food.
Revere Beach Partnership president Christian Scorzoni, who worked with the city on both sand castle events, said Fitzpatrick was originally hired for a day last summer to bring professional flair to the amateur event. He became the main draw.
''Everybody congregated around him. To see him going from scaffolding, to nothing, to carving, people were so fascinated," Scorzoni said. ''We had such a great turnout for him we said, 'How can we make this bigger?' "
Private local sponsors jumped on the idea, helping Scorzoni raise about $80,000 that will mostly pay for the prize money, and the travel and lodging costs of some of the world's best sand sculptors, including Karen Fralich, the reigning sand sculpting world champion from Burlington, Ontario. Some masters have been offered appearance fees of several hundred dollars.
Professional sand-sculpting is not an organized industry, with the rules of competition varying from event to event. Masters sculptors often jump from competition to competition, living out of a suitcase, paid to travel the world and play in the sand.
One of those lucky sorts is Lucinda ''Sandy Feet" Wierenga, whose attempts at dismissing her celebrity status in the sand-sculpting industry belie her appearances on the ''Live With Regis and Kelly television show, and in numerous national publications, including People magazine.
Wierenga started sand sculpting in the 1980s, when she met Walter McDonald (known as Amazin' Walter in the industry) at South Padre Island, Texas, where she lives now.
An accomplished sculptor himself, McDonald asked Wierenga to carve some sand. She was hooked. The couple, who were briefly married, are business partners and, when they make appearances together, they are known as the Sons of the Beach.
Fresh off a competition in Hampton Beach last month, Wierenga, along with her master sand sculptor boyfriend Fred Mallet, will be at Revere Beach today and throughout the festival. Wierenga, a former school teacher, is now one of the authorities on sand sculpting, having written three books on the subject, including one published last month called ''Sand castles Made Simple: Step-by-Step Instructions, Tips, and Tricks for Building Sensational Sand Creations."
''I discovered pretty early on that I'm not going to be the best sand sculptor in the world, but what I can do is be the best sand sculpture teacher in the world," Wierenga said. ''It's very rewarding, financially sure, but more in helping people have fun. I take that pledge very seriously. . . . I think the world would be a better place if people were on the beach building sand castles."
Master sand sculptors as a group are pretty easy-going, sharing their tips with anyone with an interest. But one thing they are very particular about is their sand. There is, after all, a science behind the art, and Revere Beach sand just doesn't cut it. The sculptors will be working with 200 tons of fine quality sculpting sand that was scheduled to be shipped to the beach yesterday from a riverbed quarry in Hudson, N.H.
''It boils down to the shape of the grain of the sand and the amount of water you use," Fitzpatrick said. ''Beach sand is eroded, so the grains are rounded. No matter how hard you pack a round grain of sand, chances are one is going to roll out and cause a chain of events."
For Justin Gordon of Groveland, making the most out of a blank sand canvas doesn't usually mean anything more than simply building a sand castle. While most sand sculptors use everything from pastry knives to cheese slicers to create designs, Gordon said his favorite sculptures are sand castles because they are more challenging.
''A lot of sand sculptors don't like doing castles, but they're part of the mystical element of sand," said Gordon, who is participating in Revere's festival. ''Some sand sculptors don't like 'hard sculptures,' like sand castles, because they're rigid. With 'soft sculptures' you can do anything you want. Sand castles have to have a leveled vertical wall, and are very detail oriented."
Gordon, who started sand sculpting in the 1980s, said getting laid off from his engineering job at
''The people in the industry are friendly and sharing. They tell you tricks they know and help you however they can," Gordon said. ''It's the opposite of what corporate America is."
The festival starts today, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Voting for ''People's Choice" will take place Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com 