Sandcastles, ahoy!

By Nadine Balanban

It was certainly a lively morning at Ocean Beach on November 9th as the weather Gods brightly smiled down upon us. While surfers and swimmers played in the waves and families gathered together for beach picnics, we made sandcastles.
 
Thinking that this would be all fun and games, AGS participated to assist at Leap's 30th Anniversary Sandcastle Contest to support Leap's arts education program. Little did we know that this competition was serious business. Teams of professional sculptors, architects, rocket scientists, master sandcastle builders, and local elementary school students competed to win the title of "Best in Show". We joined forces with Bay Club San Francisco to help create a 20' by 20' sand masterpiece inspired by Robert Indiana's "LOVE."
 
Once the whistle blowed, four hours of intensive sandcastle building began. "It's a new experience for me since I never actually built a sandcastle before," Raina Cheng, AGS Secretary, mentioned, "It's really fun minus the sand going in my mouth and eyes, but it feels great just being out here and help build the community sandcastle." Amorphous lumps of sand gradually turned into masterpieces. In the waning minutes of the competition, each contestants' design came to life. At 2 PM on the dot, the building ceased.
 
Team Da Vinci Devils won first place for their amazing Great Wall of China/dragon sculpture, bringing home the title of Best in Show and a new shiny gold trophy. Sand Gogh team followed in 2nd place, winning silver with their sandcastle San Francisco landmarks. Third place went to the Sea Dragons for their Harry Potter-themed sandcastle. Cheng smiled, "It was awesome how everyone worked together, it was a great atmosphere really. Not to mention the sandcastles themselves, they were impressive!"