26th Annual American Sand Sculpting Championship at Fort Myers Beach

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This year’s Fort Myers Beach Sand Sculpting Championship was amazing!  I’ve never attended a competition and it was exciting to see them up close.  Their site online said it started at 9:00am…so I arrived there about 8:45am…wanting to get early morning light for good photos.  Once there I found out it didn’t start until 10:00am…so I had an English muffin at the Holiday Inn (where the competition was) and took a walk on the beach…

There was a fence with black netting around the sculptures so you couldn’t see them…until you paid the $5.00 entrance fee.  Since I’m tall…I snuck one…

I was the first one through the entrance and was able to get some photos without people in them…

The event is for 10 days and began on Friday the 16th.  The judging took place on the 18th and I attended on Monday, the 19th.

This is the sculpture that won…

Although I really liked that one, it wasn’t my favorite.

I met one of the sculptors and he informed me that the theme was winter wonderland, so I’m surprised they awarded first place to one that wasn’t within that theme.

Love this one…

This is my second favorite…I think the detail is amazing!

Jack Frost was my favorite!  The eyes look so real…I love everything about it!

This is Bill (one of the competitors).  He’s on the road a lot for competitions, and home is Montana.

This is a partial view of one of Rod Green’s chain saw wood carvings.  I lucked out with the position of the fish and the sun.  Twice a day he makes a sculpture for the audience.

Here’s Rod at work…

This one took about 30 minutes to make.  Very cool!!

I had packed a sandwich that was in the car for lunch…so I ate that while I drove the 30 minutes to my condo.  I took an afternoon jog and had salad for dinner.  See you tomorrow for the sunset at the Yacht Club that’s less than 10 minutes away!

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29 thoughts on “26th Annual American Sand Sculpting Championship at Fort Myers Beach”

  1. Pingback: Fort Myers Beach with the Sherrys | Fabulous 50's

  2. Reblogged this on Chief Writing Wolf and commented:
    Fellow blogger “Travel Spirit” has compiled some great photos during her romp across the country in recent weeks, but this set really left me in awe. These are from a sand sculpting competition in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, where imaginations are allowed to run wild. Thanks, TS, for posting these!

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  4. WOW Sherry! These pictures are absolutely brilliant. I loved all the sculptures especially the Jack Frost one and the Tree Lady with her Awesome Hair Branches surrounded by her leaves…..amazing details in both sculptures! Thanks for taking us on your trip…..enjoying every minute of it!!!

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  7. I am always fascinated by the very talented people who do this. How can you put so much of yourself into creating something so beautiful knowing that it is only temporary and can simple be washed away by the rain?

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  11. I cannot believe what I’m seeing… is it a special sand or do they add something to it that it keeps its shape? it almost surreal … you would not be able to do that with the sand we have on our beaches… and you’ve been in SA (South Africa) so I’m sure you would agree…. beautiful post thanks for sharing…. now I can’t remember where we’re off to tomorrow.. but I’ll be there….

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    • It’s real sand. Usually, they have to spray it with water to keep it intact. But, when it has to last for a week to 10 days, they spray some type of glue on it. One of the sculptors was telling me about it.

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  14. Fantastic … never seen anything like – nearly like the ones I did as a kid .. in the sand by the lake.
    Wonderful shots again … have to find a new way to express myself now. Thanks for sharing.

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