18th Annual Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic (Hampton, NH)

Dates Of Event: June 14-16 (usually annually, the second or third weekend in June)

Location: Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH

Cost: Free

Hours: the sculptures are accessible for viewing all day until June 27, except between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. when the beach is closed

Parking: Parking info can be found here

Wheelchair Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Tips: The sculptures will be able to be viewed at night when they illuminate the area

Related Posts: 2017 Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Competition

2016 Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Competition

Website: Hampton Sand Sculpture Event

Sculptors don’t just sculpt wood, ice and clay.  In fact, some of the world’s best sculptors like to play in the sand.  And that’s exactly what they were doing last weekend at Hampton Beach, NH.

The theme of this year’s sand sculpture of the sponsors of the event was “The Aliens Have Come To Hampton Beach.”  All of the featured sculptors contributed to this sculptor.

The massive sand sculpture included a memorial to Canadian sculptor and regular Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic competitor Michel Lepire.

Michel passed away earlier this year.  But, his son, Marc Lepire, did participate and made a special tribute for his dad in his  own sculpture.

The competition included 10 sand sculptures, not included the sponsors’ sculptures, with sculptors from all over the globe.

Visitors to the beach were allowed to view the sculptures up close on the beach at 1 o’clock and given a ticket to put in a bucket next to their choice.  While it is great to be able to get so close to the sculptures and I did take photographs while I could get close to them, the sculptors have until 4 to complete their works.  And, of course, they use every minute at their disposal usually.  So, I didn’t end up posting most of the photos I took at 1.  But, I did cast a vote (for “Influence” by Carl Jara).  Then, I waited a few more hours so I could photograph the sculptures in their completed states.  Time goes by pretty quickly at the beach, though.  So I didn’t mind waiting.  After all, I’m a pretty patient person, except when I am driving.

When the votes for the sculptures by the official judges were finally tallied the winners were recognized and given their awards ($3,000 for first place) and a fireworks display capped off the festivities.  Below are the top ranked sculptures and the also rans.

First place went to “Temptation” by Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island.

Melineige Beauregard of Montreal nabbed second place with her sculpture “Rising.”

Dan Belcher of Missouri swam into third place with “Water Dance.”  This was certainly one of the larger sculptures.  It must have taken many hours to make all of these shapes and designs.

“Influence” by Carl Jara of Ohio came in fourth place.  he also won the “Sculptor’s Choice” award which must be very rewarding since it is voted on by his peers.

David Andrews of Wisconsin came in fifth place with “Ancestral Swirl.”

The “People’s Choice” award which the visitors got to vote for went to Marc Lepire of Quebec for “Wind Lovers.”

The remaining sculptures are listed below.  I was actually surprised that some of them, like “Winging It” by Delayne Corbett of Vancouver did not place in the voting.  Since ikt had so much intricate detail I thouggh tit was sure to be in the top 5.  But there was so much competition at the event.  So, even some of the best sculptures didn’t make top rankings.

“Defeating The Darkness” by Justin Gordon of Groveland, MA, was another sculpture I thought may have been overlooked.  There’s a lot of wonderful detail in this one.

This futuristic looking sculpture called “Three Phase Steam Phork” was sculpted by California sculpture Kirk Radimaker.

There’s something about the sculpture “Joy” by Karen Fralich.

I’m not sure if it’s the name of the sculpture, the seemingly carefree child or the butterflies sporadically placed throughout the sculpture.  But, something about this sculpture makes me smile.

If you missed the sand sculptures last weekend, don’t worry.  They will be on display until Wednesday, June 27.  They also illuminate the area for night viewing if you can’t make it there during the day time.

The wires you may see sticking out of the tops of some of the sculptures, shown sticking out of the head of the sculpture in the photo below, are meant to deter birds from landing on.

No matter.  Some birds still found a way to land on them.

The sand sculpting event had more than just sculptures, though.  There were other family friendly activities as well such as face painting.

There were also so many cute dogs at the event.

Watson is a 5 year old Dalmatian Coonhound.  he was adopted from the Pope Memorial SPCA.

Jackson, a 5 year old Great Dane, was another gentle giant.  He was a little hard to get to look at me because his dad was parking the car and he kept looking to his left and right in the hopes of seeing his human.

Greta is a 7 year old German Drahthaar.

Bailey, who will be 6 months Sunday the 25th (yes she is a Christmas baby), is a Teacup Yorkie.  She was dressed to the nines for her day at the beach.

Some dogs are a little shy of my camera.  This was the case with Luna, a 1 year old pit and lab mix.  At least at first.  But, she warmed up to the camera pretty quickly.

Bailey is a 6 month Standard Poodle.  With her fluffy fur, she reminded me of a big teddy bear.

Buddy, a 14 year old Cairn Terrier, was certainly not in Kansas anymore.  That’s right, Buddy is the exact same breed as Toto from The Wizard Of Oz movie.  If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.  Just look out for the “flying monkeys.”

Brady, who was named after a certain local sports star, is an 11 month old Cavachon.  Are you saying to yourself, Cava what?  I did too.  His folks told me he is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon Frise mix.

And, last but not least, Tyzon, a Boxer, will be 5 years old in September.  It had been a long day taking photographs and I was ready to get ready to head home.  Then, when I saw Tayzon I decided to take out my camera for one more dog photo.  He was very accommodating and the kids loved petting him.  And he loved the pets he recieved.