Surf City's annual Sand Sculpture Contest ‘was a complete success’

Photo by Jack Reynolds
The intricate 'Game of Thrones' Winterfell
castle takes a village of people to construct.

Approximately 120 people, ages 4 to 60, turned out to build a masterpiece on the beach last week during the Surf City Taxpayer Association’s annual Sand Sculpture Contest, held at 14th Street on Wednesday, Aug. 3. The event, sponsored by Ron Jon Surf Shop, has been held in the borough for over 25 years. This year, people came from as far as Canada to compete.

“It was a complete success,” said Jean Daniels, who has chaired the event the past eight years. “Weather was perfect, with a large amount of participants. People were having so much fun. The anticipation and smiles on the faces of the winners made it all worth it.”

The sculptures spanned from the 13th through 15th street beaches. Participants had to build their sculptures using only natural products found on the beach. One of the most interesting pieces was the human octopus, featuring a young girl buried up to her waist with octopus tentacles constructed out of sand. Other attention-grabbing sculptures ranged from a small-scale version of the Barnegat Lighthouse, a mermaid decked out in colorful shells and Olympics-inspired monuments to a giant American flag, sea turtle and snowman.

First-place winners were Lydia from South Orange in the 5 and younger age group; Una Rvvd from Harrisburg, Pa., in the 6 to 10 age group; and Chris Hibberd of Surf City in the 15 and older age group. Adrianna, Sofia and Siena from Surf City received first place for the group category consisting of those 12 and younger. Teams Little Weirdos from NJ and The Winners from Sterling Heights, Mich., tied for first place in the all-ages group.

A total of 18 trophies were presented by the SCTA.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.