Last weekend, Ron and I went to Clearwater Beach to see the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival. Clearwater Beach is known for its sparkling, soft, white sand, but when Hurricane Helen barreled through last September, it pushed mountains of sand all over the island. Before the sand could be returned to the beach, it had to go through the arduous process of separating, sifting and cleaning. Now six months later, it was back where it belonged, just in time for the annual sand sculpting event.
This year, the theme was “Dinoshores: A Prehistoric Adventure in Sand.” Seventeen master sculptors had spent the past three weeks bringing the world of dinosaurs to life. There were sculptures of every kind of dinosaur, including fictional characters like Barney and Dino. My favorite sculptures featured Manny, Diego, Sid and Scrat from the Ice Age Movies.
New to the festival was a section of projection-mapped art, with colorful images and video of dinosaurs and volcanos projected onto the sand. I thought it was an interesting addition, but I preferred the traditional sculptures with all their incredible, intricate details. It always amazes me what beautiful art can be created out of sand.
Travel Tips: The Sugar Sand Festival runs through April 27 and costs $14 a person. Although 95% of the sculptures are completed by opening day, final touches are added throughout the festival, so you have a good chance of seeing one of the sculptors at work.
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| mural on South Gulfview Blvd |
Amazing art! I remember the super cute sand sculpture that we both liked so much the year you were here for the Virginia Beach sand sculpture display. The little boy imagining himself as a superhero, and all the details like his helmet being askew and the back side of it where he was being an actual little hero in real life.
ReplyDeleteYes! That was when I got hooked. The Clearwater Beach festival didn't start until a couple of years later.
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