17th Annual Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic (Hampton Beach, NH)

Dates of Event: June 15 – June 17, 2017 (sculptures on display until June 28)

Location: 180 Ocean Blvd, Hampton Beach, NH

Cost: Free

Parking:

Effective May 1st – $2 per hour public parking. Pay at Pay Station and Must display receipt visibly on dashboard.

Handicap Parking – Handicap parking is available in any legal metered parking spot providing you have a Handicap Plate or a Hanging Handicap Tag hanging, or visible, in your front window.

There are also several parking lots (ranging from $5 to $20 a day) throughout the Hampton Beach area.

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Highlights: Sand sculptures by master sand sculptures

Rain and chilly temperatures did not prevent master sand sculptors from playing in the sand last weekend at Hampton Beach.

The 17th annual sand sculpting competition attracted master sand sculptors from all over  the globe.  In case you missed the sculpting event, you can still view the sculptures until June 28 and they light the area at night so you can view them day or night.

Although all of the sculptures were worthy, only one could be crowned the champion.

First place went to Melineige Beauregard from Montreal Canada.  Beauregard’s sculpture is called “Dance of the Undefined.”  Melineige said her sculpture represents how we are constantly changing and yet some aspects of us stay the same.

Second place went to Abe Waterman from Prince Edward Island for his sculpture, “Get Out Of The Box.”  He also won the “Sculptor’s Choice Award” as well as my vote!  It had rained heavily the night before the sculptures were scheduled to be completed and, even though the sand is capable of withstanding some degree of inclement weather, his sculpture almost collapsed.  You can see a “crack” or line in his sculpture which was caused by the heavy rains.

Karen Fralich, of Toronto, Canada, took third place with “Tiny Warrior.”

David Andrews of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, nabbed fourth place with “Hands Of Fate.”

Fifth place was awarded to Carl D. Jara of  for “I Can’t Get This Out Of My Mind.”

The People’s Choice Award was won by Michel LePire of Quebec for “Seduction.” This was Michel’s last sand sculpting competition as he is retiring.  he certainly went out with a bang!

Although they did not place, the rest of the sculptures were very creative and stunning.  It must have been very hard for the judges to decide on the winners.

Justin Gordon, of Groveland, MA, created his sculpture, “Gazing Life Beyond”, as a tribute to his mother in the afterlife.  Even though some of the other sand sculptures may have been more pleasing visually, I think Justin’s sentiment best.

Marc Lepire, of Quebec, dedicated his sculpture, “Grand Slam”,  to his children and all fans of baseball.  Can you tell by the number and team of the player who the person in the sculpture is?

Joris Kivits of the Netherlands sculpted Horizontalism.

New Hampshire resident Greg Hardy created he sculpture, “What A Lovely Way To Say You Love Me.”

There were also the sand sculptures of the sponsors of the event and a special sculpture dedicated to the New England sports fans!

As usual, there were lots of dogs at Hampton Beach to view this dog friendly event.

Vito (on the left) is a 10 year old Akita.  Vivian (on the right) is a 9 month old Akita.  Their fur was so soft!

Apollo, a 3 year old German Shepherd, is a gentle giant.

Zuzu, an 11 year old Beagle who was named after “Zuzu” from “it’s A Wonderful Life”, had her own wagon ride!

Bella, a 1 and a half year old Chihuahua, was all dressed up for her visit to the beach.

Roxy, an 8 year old English Pointer, is a sweetie.

Micky, a 7 month Apso Shih Tzu (also known as a Shih Apso), posed so well for me.

Tinkerbell, a 9 year old Yorkie, cooled off by a puddle.

Until next year, Hampton Beach!  Okay, maybe sooner than that.