The Sugar Sand Festival is a 17-day sand sculpting competition celebrating Clearwater Beach’s soft, white sand. I’ve gone to the festival five times now and every year is different. This year’s theme was “Blast from the Past.” It was a nostalgic look at the pop culture icons of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, all carved out of sand.
Since I grew up in the 80s, I especially liked the sculptures of Michael Jackson, the space shuttle and Pac Man. Another of my favorite sculptures (from the 90s section) was of the Simpson family sitting their couch with the characters from Toy Story. To add to the mood, there was background music playing for each decade, from “Mr. Sandman” to “Staying Alive” to the theme song from Seinfeld.
Although the sculptures are 95% complete by opening day, some spots are purposefully left open so that visitors can watch the artists adding the finishing touches. I got to see local artist Dean Arscott sculpting with a spatula, a paint brush and even a dog grooming tool. It always amazes me that such beautiful art can be created with just sand, water and simple household items.
In addition to the sculptures, the festival has sand sculpting classes, concerts, buskers and food and craft vendors. There is even a beach clean-up on Friday, April 21, in honor of Earth Day. Since I wouldn’t be able to make it to the clean-up, I took a walk on the beach after I left the festival and picked up a bag of trash. I was glad to be part of keeping our sand beautiful for the next decades. Earth Day is every day!
Travel tips: The Sugar Sand Festival runs through April 23 and costs $14 a person.
Festival details: https://www.sugarsandfestival.com
Earth Day Clean-up: https://www.sugarsandfestival.com/p/activities2/earth-day-celebration
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