By Sue Ellen Woodcock
The Tall Ships will be the theme of the 15th annual International Sand Sculpting Festival this year, according to the Revere Beach Partnership, organizers of the event.
The Revere Beach Partnership will host the International Sand Sculpting Festival, on Friday, July 21 to Sunday, July 23, on Revere Beach.
“This is a fantastic event, an event the entire city gets behind,†said Bob Upton, executive director of the Revere Chamber of Commerce. “People feel that it is something to be proud of and want to be a part of.â€
Taking the lead from the Tall Ships celebration in June, this year sculptors will be creating their own expression of nautical life and all that goes into being a Tall Ship.
The 2017 International Sand Sculpting Festival will serve to provide an artistic representation and celebration of the engineering genius that are Tall Ships. Spectators will marvel at a massive, 20-foot-wide, sand-sculpture recreation of the USS Constitution along with a 10-foot-tall lighthouse.
The annual festival draws upwards of 900,000 spectators from all over the country who come to watch master sand sculptors compete for first prize in the solo and duo portions of the Master Sand Sculpting Competition. The festival also features gourmet food trucks, live entertainment, local vendors, exhibit booths, children’s sand sculpting lessons, and fireworks over the course of three days.
“The theme is timely with the Tall Ships visiting in June,†Upton said. “It’s important to acknowledge our tradition and rich history.â€
John Hamel, of the Revere Beach Partnership, said “this is one of the top sand sculpting events in the world. The Revere Beach Competition requires that over 50 percent of the sand sculptors to be from outside the United States.
Sand sculptors for the Solo Competition are as follows:
Deborah Barrett/Cutulle of Saugus, Massachusetts
Mélineige Beauregard of Quebec, Canada
Dan Belcher of St. Louis, Missouri
Jonathan ‘Jobi’ Bouchard of Montreal, Canada
Paul Hoggard of Bulgaria
Dmitry Klimenko of St. Petersburg, Russia
Sue McGrew of Tacoma, Washington
Pavel Mylnikov of Moscow, Russia
Andrius Petkus of Lithuania
Morgan Rudluff of Santa Cruz, California
Susanne Ruesler of Ultrecht, Netherlands
Steve Topazio of Tiverton, Rhode Island
Nikolay Torkov of Moscow, Russia
Leonardo Ugolini of Forli, Italy
Marianne van den Broek of Key West, Florida
Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island, Canada
The 2017 International Sand Sculpting Festival will also feature the availability of lessons from highly trained, sand sculpting professionals. Returning, once again, to lead these lessons are Sandi ‘Castle’ Stirling and Raymond Poirier of Ontario, Canada.
Hours for the 2017 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival on Friday, July 21Â and Saturday, July 22 are 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday, July 23Â 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday night at 9 p.m. there will be fireworks launched from a barge off Revere Beach. Admission is free and open to the public.
It is recommended to use the MBTA and public transportation to and from this event. The MBTA Blue Line can be taken to the Wonderland or Revere Beach stops. Free parking and shuttle service to the T will be available at Suffolk Downs. Parking is also available at the Wonderland Garage. For more information about the event or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.internationalsandsculptingfestival.com.
