And the sand sculpting contest winners are…

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 25, 2018

EDMONDS — Young and old, but mainly young, competed on the crowded beach Tuesday at the annual Sand Sculpting Contest.

There were four categories: family, children, adult and day camp.

David Matthews has been building sculptures for more than 20 years. This is his first year in the contest. He sculpted a coffee cup, inspired by Edmonds’ Walnut Street Coffee shop not far from the beach.

Some builders got creative and prepared ahead. “We took a class at another sand castle-building contest in Long Beach,” said JC Pine, a boy with an orange shirt and a blue pail. “We’re professional at not being professional.”

JC and his sister, Chayse, were using a bottomless bucket to craft sand, a technique they learned from the class.

Getting their own “Day Camp” category, attendees from the Children’s Center in downtown Edmonds competed with one another. Building a moat, one 6-year-old said, “We’re using wax paper so the water doesn’t seep through.”

The city of Edmonds has been hosting the event for 10 years. This year, due to financial reasons, the nonprofit Edmonds Chamber Foundation took over.

Anything from marine animals to moats to the castle from “The Legend of Zelda” were recreated in the sand.

Joyce Altaras, attending with her grandchildren, said, “This is more fun than I thought it would be, and I thought it was going to be pretty fun!” Her family crafted a sea turtle, decorated with beads and dried seaweed.

Organizers of the event take care with local marine life. Participants are instructed to use only dried seaweed and shells, and to skim the surface of the water so unsuspecting animals don’t dry out in the sun. Failure to do so can result in points being docked.

WINNERS

Adults:

3rd place: Web Slingers (Matt and Kim)

2nd place: The Mermaids (Cindy and Jill)

1st place: “Elkins DIY” (Paul Elkins)

Children:

3rd place: Shell Mermaids (Sofia)

2nd place: The Best Team (Kia Weters)

1st place: The Sand Smashers (Olivia Vickers)

Day camp:

3rd place: The Sand Castles (Wesley),

2nd place: The Landsharks (Mrs. Murphy, Tayea and Emma), and

1st place: The Children’s Center (Helena, Sarah, Reagan and Avery).

Family:

3rd place: Rickers Rock (Jenni Ricker),

2nd place: Be Bunch (Leslie Barbien),

1st place: Uncle Mark and the Minion (Mark Thibodeau).

Nataya Foss: nfoss@heraldnet.com.