Families, friends and kids of all ages who love playing in the sand should start making plans to attend the fourth annual Wildwood Crest Amateur Sand Sculpting Contest on Saturday, July 9 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the beach next to the Wildwood Crest Beach Pier at Heather Road.
Grab your supplies and get ready to create works of art. Making sand castles at the beach has been a fun summertime family activity since the first shell washed ashore, and now this great American pastime is coming back to the Wildwoods in a big way.
Fun activities will be featured at this year’s festival including horseshoes, corn hole and other games, as well as live music throughout the day including The Mango Men, with their energized and ‘sand castle-inspiring’ summer themed party music.
The contest is being organized in conjunction with Can You Dig It Sand Tools and directed by internationally known sand sculptor Matt Long. Long is a regular competitor at master competitions, including the World Championships of Sand Sculpting, and is an original cast member of the former Travel Channel Show Sand Masters. Long’s career in sand sculpting began right here in South Jersey at amateur events like this one.
Sculptures will be judged on creativity, execution, composition and overall presentation. Prizes and awards will be presented to the top three winners in each division. There will also be a People’s Choice award for Best on the Beach, where the winner is voted by spectator ballot. To ensure a level playing field, the contest will have six separate divisions ranging from solo youth and youth groups to solo adult and adult teams.
Registration for the contest is FREE and will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 9. Rain date for the event is scheduled for Sunday, July 10.
During the days leading up to the event, Long will be carving one of his masterful castles at the site, providing an opportunity for those interested to stop by, ask questions and pick up some professional tricks and tips.
For additional information, call (609) 523-0202 or visit www.VisitWildwoodCrest.com.