Sandcastles In The Sand...

First Day of Summer at the Beach

Ah, the first day of summer!  This is the day we look forward to all year.  I am a "Summer" girl, so when the sun is shining (finally) I want to be out in it.  We didn't plan this day at all...what we came up with was kind of a last minute decision.  But Dean raised the question, "When is the Sandcastle Contest in Cannon Beach?"  And so, I got online and looked it up.  Sure enough, there it was!  Today!  So, I packed some snacks, we loaded the car and headed north following Highway 101 along the coast.  The drive up, by itself, is worth getting out of the house for.

We came here another time, about 7 years or so ago, and brought Dean's parents and his cousin Lorraine.  It was a beautiful day then, too...a day when all of us had better health.  This year, however, it seemed like the crowds had increased by a factor of 10!  We had a hard time finding a place to park, then we had a hard time getting close enough to the "carving" to see anything.

We wandered about for nearly an hour, finally zeroing in on our favorites.  We found it great fun to watch their progress.

When we came upon the above sculpture, we stopped short, and had to chuckle!  "Couch Potatoes!"  That one was a hoot.  We both agreed that they did a great job on the couch.  Someone had a great imagination!

Then we stood and watched this sculpture's progress for quite some time, trying to figure out what this was all about.  As we watched, the Volkswagen's started to appear.  It was hilarious!  I can't remember the title, but I just titled it "In and Out!"  Someone commented that it was a scene from some movie, but I guess I must have missed that one.

 It is amazing to watch the detail of each sand sculpture unfold and the sand "artists" work their talents.  They have such amazing concentration and the end result is absolutely amazing.  The concentration that each participant expresses with their work is awe inspiring.









Even when sculpting out a sign, every detail is precise.  Each group has a plan, and every member of the group has their assignment.  Here we watched as the artist did the lettering on the title sign.



Have you ever seen a sandcastle that looked like a rocket ship?  We found this one quite interesting!  This particular sculpture ended up in a heap of sand when the team was just about finished.  The entire crowd moaned.  But, you have to give them credit, they took one of the medals for their efforts.

The one sculpture we zeroed in on was the sculpture created by a Christian group.  We watched and watched, as first the lion and then the lamb emerged.  The first sculpture we noticed was a huge cross that was set off to the side and in front.  To the left of the cross was a giant book...the Bible...with the verse "Isaias ll:7" printed on the right side.  The group creating this sculpture were all Hispanic, so that is how they spell Isaiah.  (Clever!)  

We were immersed in this sculpture.  Every member had their assigned task, from shaping the lion and the lamb to sculpting out the details of his mane, to forming the huge blocks that would become the cross, the book and, lastly, the plaque that bore the title.

"One Day," as the scripture says, "The lion shall lie down with the lamb."  I loved it!  Dean loved it!  The crowd that was as spell-bound with this sculpture as we were, loved it.  But, I guess the judges didn't love it so much.  They didn't even get an honorable mention.  Our guess is that it was too controversial of a subject for the contest.  How sad!  They worked hard and did an excellent job.  If I had a ribbon to give them, it would be a huge first place.

On to the Master's Sculptures!  There were six in this category, and they were competing for the 1st Place Prize of $1200.  They were all amazing, and we could tell they worked very hard to perfect their sculpture and try and win the prize.  But, prize or not, they were there to display their artistic abilities and every one of them was having a great time.

And the winner is...

This guy was the leader and central figure in the Chinese Zodiac sculpture, the First Prize winner.  All of the animals were there, surrounding him:  The pig, the rat, the hare, the horse, the goat, the snake, etc.  It really was quite amazing and we liked this one a lot.

With the day coming to an end, the prizes all handed out, and the tide quickly sneaking up on the beach, all of the crew members got busy tearing down their boundaries, clearing out all of their tools, and then the ocean would be allowed to reclaim its sandy shore and the sculptures would return to their birthplace, mingled with the rest of the grains of sand on the beach.  It is an evolution of art.  All of this work testifies that nothing is permanent.  It is sad in a way, but the joy and pleasure these artists give to the crowds each year somehow makes it all worth while.  Cannon Beach has been hosting this event for 50 years; I suppose they will continue for perhaps another 50!