June 23, 2024

2024 Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic (Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH)

Date Of Event” June 20-22, 2024

Location: Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH (1 hour northeast of Boston, MA or 1 hour southeast of Concord, NH)

Cost: Free

Parking: There is metered parking and several parking lots in the Hampton Beach area. See below for specific details about parking at Hampton Beach

Parking At Hampton Beach

Universally Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Summary: Some of the most renown sand sculptures from around the world competed at Hampton Beach in the 24th annual Sand Sculpting Classic event.

“Sand Wars” have come to Hampton Beach! At least that is the theme of this year’s Sand Sculpting Classic.

The center sand sculpture at the Sand Sculpting Classic event has a different theme each year. And, as you may have guessed, the “sand Wars” theme is a play on “Star Wars.” All of the sand sculptors work together to make these impressive sand sculptures. Oddly, the Sand People were not included in these sand sculptures.

While “Sand Wars” was the theme for the center sculptures, the sculptors could make sculptures for any topic or subject.

Battling both a heat wave earlier in the contest to rain on the last day (it is New England after all), the sand sculptors had to work through some difficult conditions. But, as you will see below, the weather didn’t deter them from creating some spectacular works of art.

I am posting the sand sculptures in the order they are located at the beach (from left to right)

“Skin Deep” by Andy Dailey (Sarasota, FL)

The first sand sculpture “Skin Deep” by Andrew Dailey is a sculpture in the form of a mermaid. He said his piece was a statement on the many limitations on what some put on beauty.

“A Step Beyond” – Dmitry Klimenko (St. Petersburg, Russia) Second Place

Dmitry Klimenko’s sculpture won second place with his sculpture for “A Step Beyond.”

Inception – Melineige Beauregard (Captain Cook, HI) Third Place

Beauregard, who won first place in the competition last year, took third place with “Inception.” She said her sculpture was inspired by how life is “linked through DNA and all of nature.”

“Sofia’s Cradle” – David Ducharme (British Columbia, Canada) First Place

In his debut appearance at the Sand Sculpting Classic, Ducharme won first place. His inspiration for this sculpture came in a dream. Recently, Ducharme had a dream about Sofia, the Greek goddess of wisdom. The nest or “cradle” under the goddess is meant to be the nest where wisdom is nurtured.

“Orphan” – Carl D Jara (Lyndhurst, OH) Sculptor’s Choice Award Winner

Carl, who has participated in all 24 sand sculpting events, said this sculpture which depicts a woman surrounded by two extinguished candles was influenced by the loss of both of his parents. His sculpture won the Sculptor’s Choice Award which is voted on by the competing sculptors. Since it is voted by their peers, it is a highly coveted award.

“Imprisoned” – Bruce Phillips (San Diego, CA)

Bruce said his sculpture is about people trapped in mental health issues. The panels surrounding the skull represent the barriers of mental illness.

“Artio” – Karen Fralich (Ontario, Canada) People’s Choice Award Winner & The Governor’s Award Winner

Karen said her sculpture was a tribute to the Celtic bear goddess. She also said it represents the strength of a mother bear who protects the Earth. Karen won the People’s Choice Award which is voted on by the people who visit the event as well as the Governor’s Award which was voted on by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.

“Neptune Rising” – Justin Gordon (Groveland, MA)

“Open Your Mind & Awaken Your Inner Child” – Karlis Ile (Riga, Latvia)

Ile, another newcomer to the event, said this sculpture was inspired by his 20 month old son. Ile jokingly said his son is a “nice troublemaker.” He said he wanted to portray the child as being both playful and happy while the man is very serious, much like himself. He said it is kind of like a self portrait.

“We All Fall Down” – Abe Waterman (Prince Edward Island)

There was also a sand sculpture dedicated to the Boston Celtics because of their recent NBA Finals Championship. It is their 18th championship in the team’s history.

As you may have noticed, the inspirations and explanations of the sculptures are just as interesting and moving as the sculptures. Finding about the background of these sculptures adds so much to the artistic value of them.

I wasn’t sure when to go to the beach because of the various, changing weather forecasts predicting scattered showers. Lucky for me, I happened to wake up early enough to get there before the rain started. But, the threat of rain kept a lot of people from going to the beach which allowed me to get photos without many people in the background. As I was finishing the photo shoot it just began to rain. And, if you zoom in and look closely, you may see the rain and even some rain drops on the sculptures.

These sculptures will be up until Wednesday, June 26. They will also be lit up for night time viewing.

About New England Nomad

Hi I'm Wayne. Welcome to my blog. I am a true New Englander through and through. I love everything about New England. I especially love discovering new places in New England and sharing my experiences with everyone. I tend to focus on the more unique and lesser known places and things in New England on my blog. Oh yeah, and I love dogs. I always try to include at least one dog in each of my blog posts. I discovered my love of photography a couple of years ago. I know, I got a late start. Now, I photograph anything that seems out of the ordinary, interesting, beautiful and/or unique. And I have noticed how every person, place or thing I photograph has a story behind it or him or her. I don't just photograph things or people or animals. I try to get their background, history or as much information as possible to give the subject more context and meaning. It's interesting how one simple photograph can evoke so much. I am currently using a Nikon D3200 "beginner's camera." Even though there are better cameras on the market, and I will upgrade some time, I love how it functions (usually) and it has served me well. The great thing about my blog is you don't have to be from New England, or even like New England to like my blog (although I've never met anyone who doesn't). All you have to like is to see and read about new or interesting places and things. Hopefully, you'll join me on my many adventures in New England! View all posts by New England Nomad

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024 at 9:18 pm and tagged with Hampton Beach, New England, new hampshire, sand sculptures and posted in Hampton Beach, new hampshire, photographs, photography, photos, sand sculpting, sand sculptures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.