Date Of Event: June 12-14
Location: Hampton Beach, 100 Ocean Blvd, Hampton, NH (1 hour northeast of Boston, MA, 1 hour southeast of Concord, NH)
Summary: 10 sand sculptors from all over the world competed in the 25th annual Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic
Turtles, dream homes and mermaids were just a few of the meticulously crafted sand sculptures on display during the 2025 Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.
But, before the artists begin working on their grand sculptures, they all work together to make the center stage sculptures based on the theme of the competition along with a few sculptures for the sponsors of the event. The theme of this year’s event was “Sand Safari.”
Regardless of the theme of the event, the sculptors are free to make sculptures of any theme they wish. And, each sculpture had an interesting story behind them. Some of the meanings and messages behind the sculptures are fairly straight forward, like the first sculpture posted below.
“Monkey Mind” by Andy Daily (Sarasota, Florida). When I first saw this sculpture I thought the face of the person was Fred Flintstone. Then, just some old guy. It’s actually someone much more well known. Apparently, I should watch the news more often.
“It Won’t Stay Forever” by Dmitry Klimenko (St. Petersburg, Russia) won third place in the competition.
“Resilience” by David Ducharme (British Columbia, Canada). Ducharme described its meaning as, “something that finds life in really a harsh environment” much like how seeds growing through pavement and how it mirrors how people can be strong during difficult times.
“Aligned” by Meliniege Beauregard (Captain Cook, Hawaii) won 1st place as well as the “People’s Choice Award” voted on by the visitors of the sand sculpting event and the “Governor’s Choice Award” voted on by Governor Kelly Ayotte.
Beauregard’s piece is about balance and being aligned your external and internal beauty and well being. She said it was about how when you’re centered and you can align your mental, emotional and physical elements so you can create beauty and be creative.
“Manitouk” by Carl Jara (Cleveland, Ohio)
Jara said “Manitouk” is an Ojibwe term loosely meaning “protector spirit.” According to Jara, this sculpture was a response to the big block of sand and how he saw something different in it than what he had initially planned.
“The Creation Of Mermaid” by Ilya Filimontsev (Moscow, Russia) won second place. Filimontsev said his sculpture was his playful take on the painting of the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.
“Sing” by Karen Fralich (Ontario, Canada). Although this sculpture did not win an award or place in the competition, it was still a fan favorite. It was also one of the few sculptures that may have a better design on the back than the front. Fralich said “singing is important for everyone.” Even for non humans!
“To Touch The Stars” by Karlis Ile (Riga, Latvia) was a tribute to the artist’s son. This sculpture idea came from when he asked his son what he should make and his son answered a turtle.
“Dream Weaver” by Justin Gordon (Groveland, MA) is a reflection of the 25 years of the sculpting competition and all of the things he has learned during his 24 competitions. That’s right. He has competed in all but one of the sand sculpting classic competitions. Gordon said he combined things like open windows and scallops from his time in Kuwait as examples of things he has learned to sculpt over the years.
“VerTickle” by Abe Waterman (Prince Edward Island) won fourth place and, perhaps the most coveted award, the “Sculptor’s Choice Award.” Since the other sculptors know how difficult it is to make these sculptures, one could argue it is the most meaningful award. A play on “vertical”, the sculpture, in Gordon’s words, is “self explanatory.”
Like many people from New England, and, as I noticed from my interactions with people and the various license plates in the parking spaces, from all over the country, I look forward to this event every year. It is also the precursor to the official start of summer. And there may be no better way to kick off the season!
If you did miss the sculptures, don’t fret. They will be on display at Hampton Beach until Monday, June 23.
New England Nomad 