Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic 2023: What you need to know

HAMPTON — The Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic kicks off this week with 10 of the best sand sculptors in the world competing for bragging rights and $25,000 in prizes.

Sculptors have three days — eight hours each day — Thursday, June 15 through Saturday, June 17, to create masterpieces using only sand and water.

"What we are doing here in Hampton is actually creating a museum in the sand for a lot of folks who have never been to a museum in their lives," said Greg Grady, who has organized the event put on by the Hampton Beach Village District for the last 23 years. "It's truly museum-quality sculpture that we have out there and it’s all free."

The 10 sculptors competing this year are all familiar faces to Hampton Beach, including last year's winner Mélineige Beauregard, of Captain Cook, Hawaii.

Her sculpture titled "I am Life" wowed judges but also received the People's Choice Award in 2022. The two-sided sculpture, she said, was inspired by the design pattern of the Flower of Life. It showed life "and all the beauty in the world" on one side and the other "decay, destruction, and death."

"Mélineige has won three times in the past four years," said Lisa Martineau, digital marketing specialist for the Hampton Beach Village District. "She the one really to beat. She's such an incredibly talented artist. I don't know where she comes up with her ideas."

Other artists to watch on Martineau's list include Karen Fralich and Abe Waterman.

"Both are past winners," she said. "Abe Waterman's sculpture collapsed last year, so I think he's coming back with a vengeance this year."

In preparation for this year's contest, the sculptors have been working to create the massive sponsor sculptures using 100 tons of sand. This year's theme is "The Sand Before Time."

"It's going to be a ‘Jurassic Park’ type theme and we are going to put the Old Man of the Mountain in there," said Grady, who noted it’s the 20th anniversary of the "great stone face" collapse from Cannon Mountain in Franconia.

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Who are the sculptors competing this year at Hampton Beach?

Joining Beauregard are her husband Chris Guinto, who runs Broken Glass Sand Sculptures with her and has appeared on several TV shows, including "Sand Wars"; five-time world champion sand sculptor Karen Fralich from Ontario, Canada; and Justin Gordon, known for his 50-ton sand sculpture at the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts.

Also back is Rusty Croft, of Carmel, California, who is known as one of the “sand guys” on Travel Channel’s television show “Sand Masters”; Carl D. Jara, who has the distinction of competing in all 23 Hampton Beach events; and Abe Waterman, of Prince Edward Island, who took first place at Hampton Beach in 2021.

New to Hampton Beach this year is Matthew Deibert, a retired Atlantic City firefighter captain who has been competing and working in the sand since 1999. He replaces John Gowdy, who had to withdraw from the contest due to illness.

Rounding out the contestants are Bruce Phillips, of San Diego, California, a seven-time winner of the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition and Greg J. Grady, the son of Greg Grady, who grew up in the sculptor world and is now a world-class sculptor himself.

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What are the rules for the sand sculpting competition?

The sculptors use nothing but sand, water, and a few plastic or wooden forms to allow them to build their masterpieces up high. The forms are removed as they begin to sculpt.

Each sculptor is supplied with 10 tons of sand for their creation and will have 8 hours each day (Thursday, Friday and Saturday), totaling 24 hours to work on their sculpture.

"Each individual sculpture made by our artists will simply be based around whatever their imaginations can come up with," Grady said.

The 10 competitors have all day Wednesday, June 14, to prepare for the contest with what they call “pound-up day,” or the pounding of piles of sand into their beginning shape.

Judging is based on overall impact, or "wow factor," and technical skill and degree of difficulty.

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What happens if it rains at Hampton Beach?

Martineau said rain helps the sculptures as long as it's not a torrential downpour.

Water helps keep the sculptures in tact, and why you will see sculptors misting their work with water as they go.

"Don't let the rain stop you from coming down to see them because they do better in the rain," she said.

What do the winners of the Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic get?

In addition to bragging rights and a championship belt, the winner receives $6,000. Second place gets $4,000, third $3,000, and fourth $2,000.

There is also a People's Choice $1,000 award, voted on from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and a Sculptors Choice Award, voted on by the competitors themselves, with the prize being a medal.

All sculptors receive $1,500 to compete in the contest.

When will the winners be announced?

Winners will be announced at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, on the Seashell Stage. In between, there will be a concert with the band Radio Roulette, "covering your favorite hits from all over the radio dial." Afterward, there will be a special fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.

How long will the sculptures remain at Hampton Beach?

Sculptures will remain up through June 25 and will be lighted for nightly viewing.

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How do the sculptures stay together?

Grady said the sculptures are made with only sand and water. If they are not properly compacted and designed, they will fall down.

The elements of Hampton Beach also play a role, like an astronomical high tide. That is what happened to Abe Waterman's sculpture in 2022, which collapsed with just five minutes left in the contest.

"The bottom of my sculpture was still wet, which made it not as structurally sound," he said in 2022. "It's unfortunate. I like to see the piece finished and to have a final product. But at the end of the day, it is only sand. There are greater travesties that happen in the world than some sand falling down."

Grady said a wind shield is sprayed on the exterior shell of the sculpture after it's completed to protect it from the wind. A mix of school glue and water is the most common method.

Want to learn sand sculpting tips from the pros?

Darlene Duggan will offer free professional sand sculpting lessons on Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, from 1 to 3 p.m. Stop by and get a quick lesson and a few pointers on your next sand creation at the beach.

Duggan has been teaching the public about the basics of sand sculpture for over 20 years.

Sign up required and space is limited.

What is a master sand sculptor?

Grady said if you compete in a master's contest and or are commissioned for work, then you are a master sculptor. The Hampton Beach contest is invitation-only. If you win, place, or show in the contest, Grady said you get an invitation back.

How did the Hampton Beach contest come to be?

Grady started the Sand Sculpting Competition at Hampton Beach 23 years ago. But Grady said the popular contest that attracts thousands almost never happened.

A master sand sculptor who has traveled the world, Grady said he ended up at Hampton Beach in the mid-1990s.

"I was enjoying a libation at the La Bec Rouge and looking out at the ocean and said, 'This would be a great place to have a sand sculpture event,'" he said.

He first approached the then-Chamber of Commerce and Hampton Beach Village District marketing director about holding the contest, but he had no interest.

"He threw me out of the office," Grady said. "He told me they already had a sand sculpture event during the Children's Festival."

The contest the marketing director was referring to was sandcastles, not the type of event that Grady had in mind.

Grady said he returned the following year to try and change their minds but was turned down again.

"They threw me out again. Strike two, I said, 'You're out of my book,' and I never went back again."

It wasn't until Grady was commissioned by the U.S. Mint in 2000 to sculpt a large replication of the newly designed New Hampshire state quarter on Hampton Beach that the chamber and Village District changed their mind.

"You don't know what you don't know until you see it," Grady said. "From that moment everyone joined and wanted to participate… and hence the first Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting contest started. And we have been doing it ever since."

For more information, visit hamptonbeach.org/events/sand-sculpture-event, or search Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Classic on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic 2023