Playing in the Sand

Sunscreen? Check.

Comfortable yet festive summer beach attire? Check.

Professional sculpting kit? Wait... what?

That’s the checklist for the lucky people competing in the Quality Foods Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition & Exhibition (COSSCE) here in Parksville, Vancouver Island. Some of the best sand sculptors from around the world come to create far more than just a little castle in the sand.

For them, the sculpting competition began on July 16th. Over the course of eight hours per-day over three days, their sand-and-water creations take shape.

On average, each competition entry has at least ten years of practice under their beachware belts. These guys and girls know their sand, there’s no doubt about that.

But, this year’s competition and exhibition will be a bit different. The sculptor who wins first place will also receive a guaranteed spot in the World Championship of Sand Sculpting. Who knows? The work you see here in Parksville could be the work of a world champion.

Even if you can’t make it to see the sand sculpting in progress, you can still come for the exhibition. All the way up to August 15th, from 9am to 9pm, you can tour through the beach to see the sandy works that these artisans have put together. It makes for a great, low-key family excursion or a peaceful sunny afternoon. Think of it like a sunny, festive, open-air art gallery.

In general, officials judge the sand sculptures in three broad categories.

First, entries can score points for technical difficulty. This means overhangs, hollows, or the narrowness of vertical elements. Scores increase the more the sand defies gravity.

Second, artistic merit includes portraying life-like faces, bodies, accurate proportions, and the illusion of movement. When you attend, expect to see the graceful curves of nature, as well as hard-lined objects, depicted from just sand and water.

Lastly, the compositional design category lets competitors score points for originality and imagination. The best sculptures aren’t just hodge-podges of skill. The sand has to come together to work as a whole.

And aside from the chance to win a competition slot in the international sand-sculpting competition, sculptors compete for prize money. The COSSCE awards a grand total of $30,000 for the best sculptures. Can you imagine getting paid to play on the beach? That’s how everyone starts, after all. No one is born with these refined skills. On some level, competitors probably still feel the same enjoyment as when they were young, playing with a pail and the nearby water.

Even if you don’t attend the exhibition, you’re still likely to feel its impact. 52% of the attendees last year came from off-island.

What does that mean? Here’s some rough financial numbers. If each off-island attendee came through Parksville and spent just $100, then the city’s economy gains approximately 3.64 million dollars in revenue. That’s a very, very conservative estimate, mind you. Who goes on vacation and only spends $100?

If you’re a local charity, you’re likely to feel the impact of the COSSCE too. The Parksville Beach Festival Society, responsible for this sandy exhibition, donates 25% of all money raised at the gates to at least ten different local charities and volunteer groups. That admission donation, recommended at $2, is sure to find its way to worthwhile causes.

In the future, the COSSCE has potential to be a much larger event. Right next door to the current sculpting grounds lies a bed of sand just waiting to be conditioned. As it sits now, the plot has drainage issues and is unsuitable for the competition. But, with some effort, our sand-sculpting competition could be an even bigger Canada-wide event.

It’s not every day that an event like this comes around. And it’s even more seldom that you’ll find yourself saying “Wow! And that’s made of sand?”

Visit the Parksville Beachfest website

Article by Chris Robinson of Island Times Magazine.

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