Sea, Sand, Sculptures

Master Sand Sculptures on Hampton Beach, NH

When you think of sand sculpting, perhaps you recall summers at the beach building castles with buckets of water and sand. Perhaps, that’s how the folks who created these amazing master sand sculptors got their start — in childhood?

There’s over 20 sand castle competitions around the world where top notch sand sculptors create works of such size and complexity, it's hard to believe they're made from sand and water. Some of these competitions have been running for decades while others are relatively new.

Lucky for us, the 2021 Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculptures, now the largest Masters competition in the Northeast US, took place in NH last week. We went after both the sculptures and judging had been completed. Seeing these sand sculptures was a first time experience for us, but definitely won't be the last. To say they were awesome would be putting it mildly. 

Sand Sculpture Centerpiece, Hampton Beach, NH

This year’s theme was Sand, Sun and Fun in 2021 and the centerpiece, which was not part of the judged sculptures, featured sand castles, humpback whales, a lifeguard on an ATV, and featured the names of Hampton Beach business. The now annual event features 10 of the best sand sculptors in the world and attracts thousands of spectators to this popular NH beach town.

Closeup view of  ATV Rider Sand Sculptures

The competition is funded by the Hampton Beach Village District and Sponsors, in cooperation with The Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce and the NH Division of Parks. When asked about this year’s theme, its organizer, local sand artist and NH native Greg Grady, declared anything but COVID.

Back in 2000, Grady was commissioned to create a larger than life replica of the NH quarter on the beach using 10 tons of sand. Its popularity led to creation of the Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Competition the next year. Since then, the event has attracted thousands of visitors each summer. In 2020, it was postponed until late August.

Once Bitten

Each year, 200 tons of sand is hauled to the beach from a NH quarry to be used for creating the sculptures. Each competitor gets 10 tons of sand, described as some of the best in the world. For three days, sculptors carve eight hours a day and must finish their pieces within 24 working hours. They use sand, water and creativity to create their masterpieces and compete for cash prizes and awards worth up to $15,000. 

Behind Every Successful Man

After completion, the sand sculptures are sprayed with a solution of glue and water to protect them from the elements and allow them to remain standing after the competition and judging ends. This year they remained through June 27.

Pulled

We left long before the beach was dark enough to see the sculptures illuminated for night viewing. The works only remained a short time even though the glue spray could have left them intact longer. Why didn't they stay longer? Security would be needed to protect against vandalism which has occurred in previous years. And, they occupy prime space on a very popular beach. NH's slice of Atlantic Ocean waterfront is slight – only 18 miles of shoreline. 

Miss You, My Friend

Judging is based on several elements, such as technical skill, degree of difficulty and a factor best termed as WOW. The award winners this year were:

Empty, 1st Place

Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island, Canada, won first place and $6,000 for Empty, which he said was created based on a breakup with his wife. The double-sided sculpture, shows a face with matching tears with the crouching figure of a man on one side and a woman on the other.

Rebirth of Phoenix, 2nd Place

The 2020 top winner, Mélineige Beauregard of Montreal, Canada, finished second this year and took home $4,000 for Rebirth of Phoenix. She also nabbed the people’s choice award which came with another $1,000.

Poker Face, 3rd Place

Karen Fralich of Toronto, Canada, finished third with Poker Face, which brought a prize of $3,000. She’s an 18-year veteran  of the competition. Her two-sided sculpture showed a man with his poker face and a losing hand of cards, and a less confident visage on the other side.

Multiple Piercings, 4th Place

Thomas Koet of Satellite Beach, FL, came in fourth and won $2,000 for Multiple Piercings.

Continuum, Sculptor's Choice Award

Chris Guinto of Key West, FL, won the Sculptor's Choice Award for his piece titled Continuum.

These two sculptures were not included in the judging. The one shown left was a memorial to a veteran (50-year) part-time Hampton police officer and high school teacher, who died last spring after battling cancer. The other sculpture was a humorous tribute to Boston's Fenway Park baseball stadium.

While the sand sculptures were the reason for our beach day trip, they were not the only sights we saw on our time there. Anyone who has ever spent time at a shore town has seen some of these items along a boardwalk stroll. 

And, no day at the shore would be complete without stopping for lunch. Our choice was a once a year choice of clam strips. Of course, Grenville would have liked this ice cream to be edible.

The weather was perfect for our day trip and temps were in the low 80s and sunny, much better than the forecast for this week.

Currently, extreme heat is blanketing many parts of the US and even Canada. The heat wave here will have a brief respite with rain following, but higher temps are forecast to return next week. Hope you're managing to keep cool however possible.