By ALEXANDREA
BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.
The beauty of the beaches of South Padre Island is undeniable, but not everyone is a fan of sand. However, there are some who see a pile of sand and see a blank canvas. Nowhere else is that more evident on South Padre Island than its very own Sand Castle Days, where sand sculptors travel from corners across the world to compete to build the most intricate, breathtaking, sand castles possible.
Sand Castle Days is an annual event, and this year it occurred Oct. 6 – 9 , and $1500 were raised for Friends of Animal Rescue.
34 years ago, Sand Castle days was founded by South Padre sand sculpting legends Lucinda “Sandy Feet” Wierenga and Walter McDonald, aka Amazing Walter, when they had just started developing their craft of sand castle building. They met other sand sculptors and heard of sand castle building competitions across the globe.
“But nobody was doing one here,” said Wierenga. “So we decided we better start one.”
According to Wierenga, over the last 34 years of this competition, she has seen the caliber of castles entered into the competition sky rocket.
“The bar has been raised,” said Wierenga.
There have been other changes to the competition as well. For example, originally the sculptors carved their creations from genuine South Padre sand. However, the General Land Office of Texas no longer allows the moving of sand for the competition. This did not deter the coordinators of the event, so now the sand is imported from the Rio Grande River. This change has been enacted for the last four to five years, according to Wierenga, who still stresses that a huge purpose of Sand Castle Dys is to showcase the SPI’s beautiful beaches.
“There are examples all the way up and down the beach of what our local sand can do,” said Wierenga. “Its good stuff.”
The competition has moved locations throughout the years, starting at the Isla Grand and eventually landing at the largest beach bar on the Texas coast, Clayton’s Beach Bar and Grill. Hosting the event at Claytons has its benefits, according to Wierenga. The bar has provided water and ample storage for the sand sculpting equipment, as well as taking care of the sculptures.
Wierenga describes the artists that participate in the competition as “an interesting group of folks,” who adore the Island. Even after the conclusion of the event, sculptors traveled to South Padre to create their own additions to the Island’s resident Sand Castle Village, located outside of Louie’s Backyard. Visiting the Sand Castle Village is free, but donations to ensure that it stays are welcomed.
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