Sanding Ovations “Once Upon a Time”

On Saturday, Ron and I went to Treasure Island for the Sanding Ovations sand sculpting festival. I love art displays with a theme, something that ties everything together. This year’s theme, “Once Upon a Time”, seemed to have brought out the best in the artists. There was so much creativity and humor. The Rapunzel sculpture was titled “Hair Extensions” and showed Prince Charming lying on ground holding up a long braid. In the Goldilocks and the Three Bears sculpture, the bear family finds Goldilocks passed out on their beach chair after drinking all their beer. Because of the way the sculptures were laid out on the beach, you could view the details on all sides. I especially liked the back of the Three Bears sculpture, with Mama Bear’s thong and Papa Bear’s butt crack. These fairy tales creations did not look anything like the ones in my childhood story books. :-)  The highlight of the exhibit was an enormous castle, made with 80 tons of sand, that all ten of the master sculptors had worked on together.

Besides the sand sculptures, there was live music, a food court, and craft vendors. I bought a couple of beautiful Christmas ornaments made from Treasure Island sand from one of the vendors. Since it was Small Business Saturday, I was happy I could support a local artist and do some Christmas shopping at the same time.

Travel tips: Although the festival has ended, the sand sculptures will remain on display until the first week of January.