Tag Archives: sand sculpting

August 3, 2025

2025 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpture Festival (Revere, MA)

Date Of Event: July 27-29

Location: Revere Beach, Revere Beach Blvd, Revere, MA (20 minutes northeast of Boston, MA)

Cost: Free

Parking: parking is limited during the festival as the city shuts down the main roadway (Revere Beach Blvd). Visitors are encourage to take public or rideshare services. I arrived early so I was able to find a spot just before the road closures began.

Dog Friendly: Yes

Summary: 10 sand sculptors showed off their talent at the 21st International Sand Sculpture Festival

The sculptors are coming to the Revere Beach Sand Sculpture Festival. Well, they actually already arrived, But, what a fitting place to celebrate this year’s sand sculpture festival.

The first public beach in America hosted 10 sand sculptors from all over the world.

Since it is the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, there were sand sculptures representing the revolution. Fittingly, one of the sculptures, which was lighted up for my early morning visit.

There was also a sculpture of the minutemen from that era.

There were some familiar names at the event. Many of the sand sculptors who participated in the event in previous years competed again this year. And, some of the sculptors who participated in the 2025 Hampton Beach International Sand Sculpture Festival participated in this year’s sand sculpture festival in Revere.

One of those familiar names and faces in this year’s competition was Abe Waterman. Abe, a resident of Canada, earned a hat trick in hockey parlance, for his sculpture “Delicate Balance.” Abe won first place as well as the Sculptor’s Choice award which is voted on by the other contestants and the people’s choice award which is voted on by the visitors at the festival.

Slavian Borecki of Poland earned second place for “Deep Sleep.”

Hanneke Supply of Belgium won third place with “Eye See You.”

Although the rest of the sculptures did not place in the competition, they all deserve recognition for the beauty of their works and the hard work they put into them.

One of these contestants who deserves recognition is Jimmy Bejko of Boston, for his sculpture “I Want To Break Free.” Bejko moved to Boston from Albania recently. This was his second year in the competition.

Despite not winning an award, “Intrepid Innocence (Boop!)” by Damon Meri of Florida, USA, was a fan favorite.

It was hard to find resources or information regarding the inspiration for these sculptures. But, a photographer who spoke to the sculptor told me the sculpture was inspired by Damon’s young niece who is not afraid of anything and would most likely pet a dragon rather than run away if she saw one.

Bruce Phillips of San Diego, California, sculpted “Inner Prison” a sculpture with quite a bit of intricate detail.

Although, it’s not clear, this sculpture may be a nod to mental health and the prison it can create in people as this is similar to a work he created at the Hampton sand sculpture festival called “Imprisoned” which was about mental health and the barriers it can cause.

“Catch Your Dreams” by Jobi Bouchard of Canada also had a lot of intricate details. It also shows how the backs of the sculptures can be as detailed and pretty as the front.

This sculpture depicts something that has been in the news lately. “The Rise of AI” by Matt Deibert of New Jersey, USA, says a lot without being too direct. The face of the sculpture reminded me of C-3PO. For those of you born after 2000, C-3PO was a droid in a really old movie. Oh, never mind.

“Beneath The Flesh” by Joon Park of California, USA, showed off a lot of craftmanship and creativity.

“Ink” by Bouke Atemi pays homage to the squid or octopus who produce ink.

The festival, which ran from July 25-27, also included food stands, a Ferris wheel and other forms of entertainment.

Not all of the “favorites” win a prize. Yet, they all show a tremendous amount of skill and creativity. Do you have a favorite?

32 Comments | tags: beach, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, Revere, Revere Beach, Revere International Sand Sculpture Festival, sand sculpting, sand sculptures, sunrise, travel | posted in beach, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, photography, photos, Revere Beach, sand sculpting, sand sculptures, sunrise, travel, Uncategorized

January 2, 2024

2023 Rewind Part 3 – Holidays, Events And People

By New England Nomad

Date Of Post: January 2, 2023

Location: All over New England

Summary: I have photographed a lot of events and people last year. Below are some of my favorites!

Welcome to part 3 and the final installment of my 2023 rewind. In this post I will be showing my photos of events and people from a variety of places around New England.

2023 was a busy year for events and celebrations! One of my favorite annual events I like to photograph is the Salem’s So Sweet festival in Salem, MA in February. Two dozen ice sculptures were displayed throughout Salem. The sculptures are lit up each night which makes them even more fun to photograph! Below are just a few of my favorite sculptures.

Some of the sculptures had lights that changed colors.

Only one of these images is an actual sculpture. Grizzly was nice enough to pose for this photo.

Another event I was fortunate enough to photograph was the Celtic Celebration in March at Old Sturbridge Village. The Celtic Celebration was a celebration of how Sturbridge celebrated the holiday in the past. Lee (MA) Irish Dance performed Irish dances

And Celtic Harpist Cate Mahoney performed Celtic songs.

There were also quite a few sand sculpture attractions and competitions during the summer.

The annual Yarmouth Sand Sculpture Trail in Yarmouth, MA, featured 32 sand sculptures located throughout Yarmouth and Dennis. These are just a few of my favorites. All sculptures were made by Fitzy Snowman

The, of course there was the annual Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic in June.

Melineige Beauregard won first place at the competition for her sculpture “Love Is A Universal Temple.”

Sadly, most of the sand sculptures at the Revere Beach sand sculpting competition were damaged or entirely destroyed by all of the heavy rain during the event. However, one sculpture did withstand the inclement weather conditions. Appropriately, it was the sculpture of King Kong.

I also came across a few sand sculptures in Rhode Island during the summer. They were sculpted in preparation for the Atlantis Rising sand sculpting event in October. Unfortunately, I could not make it to that one!

I made it out to Rhode Island again for the Green Animals Topiary Garden in July. The topiary featured a variety of animals sculpted out of the greenery.

In addition to the various sculptures of animals, the topiary also had a special exhibit by Sean Kenney. The Sean Kenney Nature Connects exhibit included several sculptures entirely made out of Legos!

I also made out to Newport, Rhode Island, to photograph the Umbrella Sky display.

And the Newport Kite Festival at Brenton Point, Newport, RI.

I also made it out to Salem MA, for my annual Halloween photos.

And I was able to photograph the Salem Zombie Walk.

But, one of the most fun and interesting photo shoots I did last year was the Beep Baseball event in September. Beep baseball is baseball played by visually impaired players.

After the game, I made it out to the Salem Lawn Vintage Party. Various dancers with various dancing skills cut a rug (lawn?) with music provided by Annie and the Fur Trappers.

Last but not least, I took in a trip to, of course, Salem, MA, to check out their Christmas decorations.

And, there were a few special visitors during my visit! And, I though, you weren’t supposed to be able to catch the Gingerbread Man!

The Gingerbread man was in Salem as part of an ad campaign by The Good Witch. Only in Salem.

And what would Christmas be without a trip to Yankee Candle Shop in Deerfield, MA!

So, as you can see, 2023 was a pretty busy year for me! And I look for to doing a lot more in 2024!

19 Comments | tags: Massachusetts, New England, new hampshire, photograhy, Rhode Island, Salem, sand sculpting, sand sculptures, travel | posted in New England, photographs, photography, photos, travel, Uncategorized

June 19, 2023

2023 Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic (Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH)

By New England Nomad

Date Of Visit: June 18, 2023

Location: Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH, 160 Ocean Blvd, Hampton, NH

Cost: Free

Parking: Metered parking and several parking lots are available in the area. See below for parking restrictions, availability and costs

https://hamptonbeach.org/vacation/parking/

Universally Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Summary: Ten sand sculptors put their talent to the test in the 23rd annual Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic. The sculptures will be available to be viewed until Sunday, June 25 and they are lit up at night

It’s amazing what you can do with sand, especially if you are one of the gifted artists at the Hampton Sand Sculpting Classic.

The sand sculpting event, which took place June 15-17, attracts world renown sculptors from all over the United States and abroad. But, if you pay attention to the event or visit the competition, you may notice some familiar names as many of the artists compete in the event each year. In fact, one of the persons instrumental in the creation of the event, Greg Grady, has competed each year since its inception in 2000.

Some fun facts about the sculptures: 200 tons of sand is imported for the sand sculptors to use for their own sculptures and for the main design. Those sticks on tops of the sculptors you may see in some of the photos are not for artistic value – they are used to prevent birds from landing on the sculptures. And each sculptor is given 10 tons of sand to make their work of art.

Each year, the sand sculpting classic has a different theme. All of the sculptors work together to make the sculptures in the centerpiece design. Some of the themes in previous competitions were “The Greatest Show In Sand” (in 2022) and Sand, Sun and Fun in 2021″ (in 2021 of course). This year’s theme is “The Sand Before Time” with a nod to the Old Man of the Mountain (I had a hard time finding it too).

Although it’s good to see teamwork, this is a competition after all. Each sculptor had 3 (or more like 2 and a half) days to make their sand sculptures. From Thu morning until Saturday afternoon the sculptors toiled away, despite some inclement weather. But, despite the wind and rain they carried on.

The sculptures are listed below in the order they are located. Whenever possible, the meaning or other information about the sculptures are included in the description. The information and quotes were found on the Hampton Beach Facebook page and various new stories.

“Audio Immersion” – Rusty Croft (Carmel, California)

Rusty’s inspiration for this sculpture came from unexpected source; Audible. He said he enjoys listening to audio books. He went on to say how the immersion of a story or music can take you out and how you can be encapsulated by these different mediums, especially when you listen with noise cancelling headphones. This experience of listening to words or music can be immersive to your ears eyes and mind. Rusty also mentioned how the piece shows, “how your mind doesn’t need your eyes to see a vision sometimes, it’s just the audio. The sound comes through without them.” He also made a joke about how he ironically lost his own earbuds in the sand while making this work of art.

“The Devil In The Details” – Chris Guinto (Captain Cook, Hawaii) – Governor’s Choice Award

Chris Guinto secured a spot in next year’s competition by winning the Governor’s Choice award, perhaps not so ironically, with his sculpture “The Devil In The Details.”

“Love Is A Universal Temple” – Melineige Beauregard (Captain Cook, Hawaii) 1st Place Winner & People’s Choice Winner

Melineige, who won first place last year, snagged first place this year as well for her sculpture “Love Is A Universal Temple.” It is also the third time in four years she has won first place in this competition.

Melineige said the sculpture, which shows a mother and child embracing in the shape of a cathedral, was about ” “the feeling of being in love, whether it’s human or animal,” Beauregard said. “It’s very sacred. It is its own temple by itself.”

For her efforts, Melineige was awarded $6,000 for first place and another $1,000 for the People’s Choice Award.

“Obsolete” – Carl Jara (Lyndhurst, Ohio) Third Place

Carl, another familiar face at the competition, won third place for his effort “Obsolete.”

Carl said his sculpture was based on being old and obsolete and was “something of a vulnerable piece” for him. Carl went on to say he has been sculpting for 32 years and sculpting at this event for 23 years (every year it has been held) and he’s seen the progression and change over the years.

“For an old guy like me, you know with years of experience…I don’t have time to innovate again. I feel sometimes a little obsolete,” Carl said explaining his sculpture. He also stated this “old God” feels these same feelings of being obsolete as there are no “new god’s” and, out of sheer frustration, he has thrown his six pack into the TV monitor while he sits on his lounge chair with his fast food or chips by his side.

“Futurism: Man’s Best Friend 2.oh-no” – Greg Grady (New Hampshire)

At this risk of dating myself, all I could think of when I saw this sculpture was Muffet (the dog from the TV show Buck Rogers). If you get that reference, it may be time to join AARP.

“Ascent” – Bruce Phillips (California) Fourth place (tie)

Bruce Phillips said this sculpture is about how Artificial intelligence is basically replacing free thought.

His sculpture tied for 4th place with the next sculpture.

“Raptor Ryder” – Karen Fralich (Ontario, Canada)

Karen tied for 4th place with her “Raptor Ryder”. Karen said the inspiration for this sculpture was based on two of her favorite things and was tied into the “Sand Before Time” theme. “Heavy metal and dinosaurs, two of my favorite things” she explained.

“Guardian Of Her Dreams” – Matthew Deibert (New Jersey)

Matthew Deibert, a retired Atlantic City firefighter captain who has been competing in sand sculpting competitions since 1999, made his debut at this competition this year. His piece “Guardian of Her Dreams” depicts a young girl sleeping in bed with her teddy bear, sword in hand, protecting her from nightmares.

“The Struggles We Face”- Josh Gordon (Massachusetts)

Another familiar face at the competition, Josh Gordon, created the sculpture “The Struggles We Face.”

“Dave Is Here” – Abe Waterman (Prince Edward Island) Second place & Sculptor’s Choice Award

Abe’s sculpture was a tribute to another sculptor, Dave Andrews.

Abe said he made this sculpture in honor of fellow sand sculptor David Andrews who had previously competed in the Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting competition. Sadly, David passed away last year. Abe said the sculpture is for David, “but it’s also for all of us.” He went on to say “David was an incredible guy and sculptor.”

This sculpture of Andrews also won the Sculptors Choice Award, voted on by those competing in the contest.

The sand sculptures are expected to remain up until Sunday, June 25. Then, they will be taken down. They will also be lit up at night for evening viewing.

10 Comments | tags: Hampton Beach, New England, photograhy, photos, sand sculpting, sand sculptures, travel | posted in Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH, New England, new hampshire, photographs, photography, photos, sand sculpting, sand sculptures, travel

September 2, 2019

Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival (Revere Beach, Revere, MA)

By New England Nomad

Dates Of Event: July 26-28, 2019 (the event is usually held annually during the last weekend of July)

Location: Revere Beach, Revere Beach Blvd, Revere, MA (about 20 minutes northeast of Boston, MA, or 1 hour and 15 minutes southeast of Concord, NH)

Cost: Free

Parking: Since they close the streets for the event parking is limited. Parking is available at the Wonderland train stop. You may also find street parking on a side street.

Universally Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Highlights: sand sculptures

Website: Revere Beach Sand Sculpture Festival

The early bird gets the unobstructed sand sculpture photos. Or, at least so I thought.

The last Sunday of July, I decided to wake up early and photograph the sand sculptures from the annual Sand Sculpting Festival at Revere Beach. There was one slight problem. Everyone else north of Boston had the same idea. The streets and sidewalks at the beach were already slightly clogged with revelers, sun seekers and photogs by the time I arrived “early” at 6 a.m. But, with some effort, I was still able to get a few shots without people, workers or other objects in the background of most of my shots.

The annual sand sculpting event included 15 sand sculptors from all over the world. Awards were given to the top five sculptures that were judged by a panel of experts. There were also a “People’s Choice” award the visitors were able to vote for and a “Sculptor’s Choice” award the sculptors all voted for.

Then, there were 8 additional sand sculptures which did not win a prize but are no less impressive.

So, instead of a big, dramatic countdown, let’s start from the top of the list!

First place went to Canadian artist Melineige Beauregard for her sculpture, “The Nest.” Melineige also works with snow and ice to make sculptures during the colder seasons.

The first runner up in the contest was “Shell(ter)” by Jonathan (JOBI) Bouchard from Canada.

Third place went to Ilya Filimontsev from Russia for his sculpture “Guardian Angels.”

Fourth place went to Abe Waterman of Canada for his sculpture “I Just Can’t Bring Myself To Care, Doctor: An Ode To Apathy.”

Dan Belcher from Missouri came in fifth place with his sculpture “Trance.” Dan has been creating sand sculptures around the world since 1990.

The Sculptor’s Choice Award which was voted on by all of the sand sculptors was awarded to David Mac from Belgium for his work “La Renaissance De Notre Dame.”

The People’s Choice Award was awarded to Sudarsan Pattnaik from India for his sculpture “Save Our Ocean Stop Plastic Pollution.

Although only five of the sculptures won a prize, they were worthy of our praise. One of my favorites from the festival was “Eye Of The Tiger” by Sue McGrew of Washington state. She has been sculpting sand for over a decade.

“Attempting Union” by Morgan Rudluff from Santa Cruz, California was another popular sculpture at the event.

Fergus Mulvany of Dublin, Ireland, created another fan favorite called “Deep Sleep Diving.”

“Dream About Flight” by Aleksei Rybak from Russia is another sculpture that failed to qualify for one of the top spots in the competition.

“Mama Look !! I Found My Teddy!” by Deb Barrett Cutulle was popular sculpture despite not placing in the top of the competition.

“Horsepower” by Maxim Gazendam was another sculpture that failed to place in the top five.

“The Birth Of A New Universe” by Pavel Mylnikov from Russia was another sculpture that failed to make the cut.

Last, but certainly not least, is “Lady Moon” by Benoit Dutherage From France.

The theme of this year’s sand sculpture festival was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. And many of the sculptures from the To commemorate this monumental achievement, the main sand sculpture included sculptures of the astronauts involved in the voyage. Each of the sculptors contributed to these sculptures.

You have to be careful photographing the sunset, especially when you’re photographing it with other objects. For instance, I chose to use a lower aperture (5.6 for most of the photos) which left the sculptures often a bit dark. I also noticed that when I did edit the photos, I had to be careful to not use too much brightness or contrast or other buttons to control the darkness of the sculptures, especially the faces of the sculptures, because it can blow out the colors of the sunset. So, I chose to keep the sculptures a little dark and close up on the key features like faces to capture them without worrying about the background.

You can also try photographing from different angles where the shadows won’t be as bad. I was trying to avoid taking photos with people or other objects in the background. So it was hard to get photos of the sculptures from certain angles without getting people in the background and it also limited the angles I could shoot from. There were a lot of people there despite the early time of the shoot!

Since it’s unlikely the sand sculptures are going to move (and if the do leave immediately!), you can use AV (or Aperture Priority) mode so you can concentrate solely on the aperture settings. I have been using manual mode exclusively with my photos. But it took me a long time to get there. So, I do suggest using aperture priority mode if you’re not comfortable using full manual mode unless you’re photographing things that have action or some other element that requires a fast or variable shutter speed.

18 Comments | tags: beach, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, Revere, Revere Beach, sand sculpting, sand sculptures, sunrise | posted in beach, photographs, photography, photos, sand sculpting, sand sculptures, Uncategorized

August 13, 2018

International Sand Sculpting Festival (Revere, MA)

By New England Nomad

Dates of Event: July 20-22, 2018 (annually, the third weekend off July)

Location: Revere Beach, 350 Revere Beach Blvd, Revere, MA

Cost: Free

Parking: a section of Revere Blvd is shut down for the event. I found free street parking on Ocean Ave which runs parallel to Revere Beach Blvd. parking restrictions are relaxed during the weekend on this street. There are also parking lots near Wonderland Train station. More info below:

Wonderland Greyhound Track
1300 North Shore Road, Revere MA 02151
$5 and a short walk to the festival
Suffolk Downs
525 William F McClellan Highway, Boston MA 02128
Free Parking Saturday and Sunday
There will be a shuttle in the parking lot to
Park in the lot and take the T from Suffolk Downs to Wonderland or Revere Beach
Stops.
Handicap Parking: Limited handicap parking is available on Revere Beach Boulevard
on a first come, first serve basis from Eliot Circle to Shirley Ave.

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Website: Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival

Highlights: sand sculptures, family friendly, dog friendly, activities for children, food trucks

Ravens, frogs and sea gods are considered unusual things to see on a beach. But they were only a few of the figures sculpted at the International Sand Sculpting Festival last month in Revere.

The theme of the sand sculpting festival was literacy. This sand sculpture has a variety of fictional literary characters as well as some well known advertising logos in it.

It always seems you can’t ever photograph all of the highlights of an event or place as hard as you tr. Although I didn’t seem to find it in the sculpture, there was a memorial to Sgt. Michael Chesna, a slain Weymouth (MA) police officer who was killed this summer by a perpetrator who stole his weapon and fired upon him. Chesna was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He joined shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. He was 42 years old when he was shot and killed. A gofundme page has been set up for his family.

The sand used for the competition was delivered from a quarry in Hudson, NH. Each artist was given 15 tons of sand to work with. They were given 26 hours to sculpt their work.

There were 16 sand sculptures (counting at the festival with competitors from all over the world.

Fifth place and the People’s Choice Award went to Rachel Stubbs of the United Kingdom for “A Nouveau Love.”

Breeze In, Breathe Out…” by Fergus Mulvaney of Ireland snagged fourth place.

Third place went to Ilya Filimontsev of Russia, for “The Fall Of Icarus.”

“Gravity Drops” by Jonathan Bouchard of Canada took second place.

And the award for first place went to….

Pavel Mylnikov, of Russia, for “Vanishing Muse”

The remaining entries are as follow:

“Baby Love” by Paul Hoggard of England

“It’s About Time” by Steve Topazio of Tiverton, Rhode Island.

“Goddess Rising” by Remy Hoggard, wife or “sand partner” of Paul Hoggard. Remy said her sculpture was influenced by healing powers and inner beauty. She also said the influence for this model was Kylie Jenner.

“The Raven And The Frog” by David Mac. Keeping with the literary theme of the sand sculpture theme, Mac positioned Edgar Allen Poe (the raven on the left) and Ralph Waldo Emerson (the frog on the right). In an article I found on itemlive, Mac said he chose these two writers to sculpt because they are so diametrically different. It’s also noteworthy to mention they were both born in Boston, MA. It may be hard to see, without enlarging the photo, but Emerson, on the right, has a feather or quill in his mouth.

“The Beat” by Jaku (Kabu) Zimacek of the Czech Republic. One thing I love about most of these sand sculptures are the little things you may miss at your first view. You may see two people, or at least their heads, at the top of the sculpture.

“Making Beautiful Music” by Deborah Barrett/Cutulle of Saugus, Massachusetts.

“An American Dream” by Helena Bangert of the Netherlands.

“Finding Shiva” by Sue McGrew of Montreal.

“Teenage” by Melineige Beauregard of Canada.

Unfortunately, I had to leave before this sculpture was built.

“Divide And Conquer” by Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island, Canada.

The sand sculptures, which have been demolished long ago, stay up for about a week and they are lit up during the evening for viewing.

The sand sculpture festival is just that: a festival. It is not just a sand sculpture competition. There are food trucks, a merry-go-round and other activities such as a treasure hunt, cornhole game, hula hoop and sand sculpting classes for children (and big kids) to participate in or play with.

There were also a number of musical acts at the festival.

A group of artists from Cirque Du Soleil also performed at the festival. These two performers did some amazing tricks with a soccer ball.

They also posed for some photos in front of the sand sculpture advertising their show. I like how it looks like she is blowing a kiss to all of you reading this post.

And, of course, the beach is as beautiful as the sand sculptures. For those of you not in the know, Revere Beach, and Revere as a city, gets an undeserved bad rep in some parts of MA. It’s a beautiful city with highly regarded restaurants, especially Italian restaurants, that I would love to visit if I had the time, and appetite. It all stems from an unfair, and frankly simmering ethnically biased, stereotype of the people of the area. But, enough of my soap box.

Just look at the beach to see for yourself. I really liked how the woman’s pretty aquamarine dress in the bottom photo looked against the water.

The web site for the event states that upwards of one million visitors stop by at some point to view the sculptures and I think they all showed up during my visit. To get a sense of just how popular of an event the sand sculpture festival is look at this photo I took of the crowd at the event. That is the only real issue I have with the event. The road is too narrow and the area is really not big enough for the huge crowd and the crowds have only gotten bigger and bigger over the years. I do worry, for instance, how hard it may be for medical personnel to get to someone if there was a medical emergency of some kind.

Dogs apparently like sand sculptures as well. These guys and girls had a great time checking out the sculptures.

Karma is an 11 week old Armenian Gampr mixed breed dog.

Topper is a 6 year old Jack Russell rescue mix.

Zorro (on the left) an 8 year old hairless Chinese Crested dog. Jackie (on the right) is a 14 year old Powder Puff dog.

Duese is a 2 month old Pit Bull.

His family was so happy to see that he would be on the internet!

Obie is a 3 year old Tree Walker Coon hound, Lab and Basset mix.

This shy cutie is Cocoa, a 2 year old rescue Chihuahua.

Lyla is a 2 year old mixed breed dog.

Cookie is a 1 year old Louisiana Coon Hound and Cattle Dog mixed breed dog.

Dogs weren’t the only animals who made it out to the sand sculpting festival.

Hindu is an adult bearded dragon.

Loki is an adult Chinese Water Dragon.

I patted Hindu and I still have all of my fingers. Actually Loki and he were very docile and cute!

As much fun as the sand sculpting festival is, Revere Beach is a great place to go anytime. Maybe I’ll see you there on my way to one of their fine restaurants!

Below is a video clip of some of the entertainment at the festival. Some of the people from Cirque Du Soleil performed on one of the main stages during the event.

16 Comments | tags: Cirque Du Soleil, dogs, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, Revere, Revere Beach, sand sculpting, sand sculptures | posted in dogs, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, photography, photos, Revere Beach, sand sculpting, Uncategorized

June 22, 2018

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

By New England Nomad

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

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.

6 Comments | tags: dogs, Hampton Beach, New Englaand, new hampshire, photographs, Photography, photos, sand sculpting, sand sculptures | posted in Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH, New England, photographs, photography, photos, sand sculpting, Uncategorized

June 23, 2017

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

By New England Nomad

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.

14 Comments | tags: beach, dogs, Hampton Beach, New England, new hampshire, photographs, Photography, photos, sand sculpting | posted in beach, dogs, Hampton Beach, new hampshire, photographs, photography, photos, sand sculpting, Uncategorized

July 25, 2016

2016 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival (Revere, MA)

By New England Nomad

Dates Of Event: July 22-24

Location: Revere Beach, Revere Beach Boulevard, Revere, MA

Hours:

The hours of the sand sculpting festival were:

July 22 and Sat. July 23 from 10AM to 10PM and Sun. July 24 from 10AM to 8PM

Revere Beach is open 365 days a year

Cost: No Admission Fee

Parking: One website states there is free parking on Revere Beach Boulevard where the beach is located. But, I noticed signs said read there is a 4 hour parking limit on the boulevard during weekdays. Parking is free on the boulevard during weekends and holidays. If you can’t find parking on the boulevard there is a $5 parking fee at the Wonderland Greyhound (1300 North Shore Road, Revere MA). You can also park at Suffolk Downs (525 William F McClellan Highway, Boston MA) about 20 minutes away. A free shuttle can take you to the beach on the weekends There are literally hundreds of parking spots on the boulevard.

Time To Allot For Visit: About 30 minutes to an hour to view all of the sand sculptures

Dog Friendly: Yes, on the sidewalk but not on the beach

Highlights: Sand sculptures, pretty beach, long, well kept beach

Each year, sand sculpting masters come to Revere Beach from all over the world to test their skills at the International Sand Sculpting Festival. The family (and dog) friendly event is usually held the 4th weekend of July. In addition to the intricate works of art and pristine beach, there are also many activities and vendors for the entire family to enjoy. The theme of this year’s main sand sculpture pictured above was “Hands On The Wheel” (a not so slight jab at texting while driving I would gather) and the gracious sponsors.

Being the early riser than I am (have become), the shading and sun was tough to work with. It’s actually easier in some ways to shoot when the sun is higher or when there is cloud cover, I have learned.

The big winner in the solo competition at this year’s festival was Melinage Beauregard of Montreal, Canada, for her “Go With The Flow” sand sculpture. This is the second year in a row Melinage has won this competition. She won both the overall competition voted on by the audience and she also won the sculptors choice award which was voted on by the fellow sculptors.

One thing I have noticed about these impressive sculptures is the subtle things that still must take an inordinate amount of time to create but make a huge improvement, like grading on the side of a sculpture.

Second prize in the solo competition went to Italian sculptor Leonardo Ugolini for his work “Together.” Ugolini paid close attention to detail in his sculptuure. In the front, just above the astronaut’s head he etched “We Are Alone”. On the back of the sculpture, he etched “We Are Alone” backwards.

The third place winner in the solo competition was Guy-Olivier Deveau of Montreal, Canada, for his sculpture “Carcass.”

In the duo sand sculpting competition, the team of Dan Belcher of St. Louis, Missouri and Marianne van den Broek of Key West, Florida for their sculpture, “Body Art.”

One of the interesting things about this sculpture is there is supposed to be a hidden image if you look at it from a certain angle (straight ahead), As the arrow and instructions in front of the sculpture directs you, you should see a frog in the sculpture.

Do you see it? Me neither.

Second place in the duo competition went, appropriately enough, to Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island, Canada and Morgan Rudluff of Santa Cruz, California for their piece “Le Numero Deux” (the number two). This sculpture looks innocent and harmless enough until you take a closer look.

Well, you get the jist of it.

Third place in the duo competition was awarded to Deborah Barrett/Cutulle of Saugus, MA, and her partner Steve Topazio of Tiverton, Rhode Island. They also took home the People’s Choice Award. As a side note, you may notice that some of the sculptures seem grainier than other sculptures, this is because it rained Saturday night and when I took the photos on Sunday there was a different texture to the sand. I included a closeup of the sand in this group of photos for a better perspective of how the sand looked.

The other contestants'(there were 20 contestants total including the duo and solo artists) sculptures are posted below.

“I Love You So Much” by Marielle Heesels from the Netherlands.

“Always Connected” by Pavel Mylnikov from Moscow, Russia.

“Peaceful Dreams” by Nikolay Torkov of Moscow, Russia (maybe not so peaceful dreams?)

“The Last Flight” by Benjamin Probanza from Acapulco, Mexico.

“Redemption” by Jonathan Bouchard (aka “Jobi”) hailing from Montreal, Canada.

“How They View Us” – an interpretation of the Statue of Liberty holding a weapon. This was the only sculpture with any inkling of a political theme.

“Fractal” by David Durcharme of British Columbia and Enguerrand David from Brussels, Belgium.

“Little Owl”by Paul and Remy Hoggard of Bulgaria.

They also held a children’s sculpting lesson activity for ages 5 to 12. I am sure there were some future sand sculpters in that class.

Dogs like the sculptures also. Revere Beach is a great place to walk your dog. The long walkway along the beach will wear out even the most active dog.

Here are a few of the cute pooches I saw during my visit.

Neelix is a 4 year old pure breed Keeshond. Neelix is named after the Star Trek Voyager character and he is so cool he even has his own Facebook page which you can like and follow here. I did.

Darby is a 14 year old Boston Terrier Lab.

Lucy is a 10 year old Labradoodle.

James, a 6 year old French Bulldog, preferred to ride with his mom on her bicycle.

Below is a short video of one of the sand sculptors working on his sculpture.

Please stop by my Facebook Page and like my page to view content not included in my blog. Thank you.

New England Nomad

Below is a video of the sand sculptors explaining their sculptures and what they mean to them.

16 Comments | tags: beach, dogs, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, Revere, sand, sand sculpting | posted in beach, photograph, sand sculpting, Uncategorized

June 20, 2016

Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Competition (Hampton Beach, NH)

By New England Nomad

Dates of Event: June 16-18

Location: 180 Ocean Blvd, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (an hour north of Boston)

Parking: There are about 100 to 200 parking spots in front of the beach – you pay at a parking metered machine. Or, you can find parking at parking lots on Ashworth St. The prices for parking vary depending on the season or month or when there is a special event such as the sand sculpting competition. In April, metered parking costs $1 and hour and it costs $2 an hour from May until Nov. Free parking begins Nov. 4. Parking on Ashworth St. can vary depending on the time and day during “beach season”. During my visit, parking was $10 in the morning but was increased to $15 in the afternoon for all day parking (until 2 a.m.) and $20 all day parking during the weekends in the summer.

Cost: The beach does not have an admission fee.

Dog Friendly: Yes, but not on the beach (at least not during beach season)

This time of year past 16 years, people flock to Hampton Beach to show off their sand sculpting skills. It may seem like child’s play. But, these are no run of the mill sand castles. They really are works of art.

It takes a long time to construct these complex sculptures. The photos below show the progression of the works of art. It’s hard to believe some of the photos of the works of art are the same as the final work of art. Some of these photos do not show the sculptures in their final phase.

“Emerge” by David Andrews (third place)

“Rising From The Abyss” by Guy-Oliver Deaveau of Quebec (first place and Sculptor’s Choice)

“She Loves Me” by Justin Gordon of Massachusetts (People’s Choice Award winner)

“Dada Read” by Carl Jara of Ohio (4th place)

“Let It Be Magnificent” by Mélineige Beauregard of Montreal

“Phoenix Rising” by Karen Jean Fralich of Toronto (5th place)

“Selfie In Sand” by Damon Langlois of British Columbia

“Hunters Of The Sky” by Michel Lepire of Quebec

“All Together Now” by Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island (2nd place)

“It’s About Time” by Greg J. Grady of New Hampshire

There were also some sculptures that weren’t part of the contest like this sand castle (what would a sand sculpture contest be without one?) and a sand sculpture designed for the sponsors of the event.

There were some other cool things at the event like Ronald McDonald (ok, I said some cool things) and a cool car that was being raffled off.

Dogs love the sand sculpting competition also.

Tuckerman, a 9 year old Golden Retriever, looked like a teddy bear!

Caspian, whose name is made up of the first letter of his guardian’s relatives, is a 4 year old Siberian Husky. As you can see, he loved to be petted.

Minnie got dressed up for the event!

Lola’s smile was infectious.

Becca, a terrier mix who turned one in May, wanted to play in the sand.

As if one Burnese Mountain dog wasn’t enough, Brooksie, pitcured above, (3 years old) ran into his friend Guiness (5 years old)

Guiness is on the left and Brooksie is on the right in this photo.

As you can see from the photos, the sand sculpting competition is a big hit with both people and dogs!

Although they all look great, I liked the “She Loves Me” sculpture (the third one listed in the photos) best. What is your favorite sculpture?

Stop by my Facebook page to see photos, videos and other posts that I do not include on my WordPress blog: New England Nomad on Facebook

39 Comments | tags: beach, blog, dogs, New England, new hampshire, photographs, Photography, photos, sand, sand sculpting | posted in beach, blog, dogs, New England, new hampshire, photographs, photography, photos, sand sculpting, Uncategorized

New England Nomad

Tag Archives: sand sculpting

2025 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpture Festival (Revere, MA)

2023 Rewind Part 3 – Holidays, Events And People

2023 Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic (Hampton Beach, Hampton, NH)

Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival (Revere Beach, Revere, MA)

International Sand Sculpting Festival (Revere, MA)

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

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

2016 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival (Revere, MA)

Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Competition (Hampton Beach, NH)

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