Wildwood Crest Sand Sculpting Festival celebrates 10th year on Friday, July 8th

PRESS RELEASE

THE WILDWOODS - Families, friends and kids of all ages who love playing in the sand should start making plans to attend the 10th Annual Wildwood Crest Sand Sculpting Festival on Friday, July 8 from 9 am - 2 pm on the beach next to the Wildwood Crest Beach Pier at Heather Road.

Grab your buckets and shovels and get ready to create works of art. Making sand castles at the beach has been a fun summertime family activity since the first shell washed ashore, and now this great American pastime returns to Wildwood Crest in the form of a festival for the 10th straight year.

Fun activities will be featured at this year's festival including a magic variety show at 10:30 am, beach games, as well as live music featuring the Mike Shackleton Band at 11 am.

The contest is being organized in conjunction with Can You Dig It Sand Tools and is directed by internationally known sand sculptor Matt Long. 

Long is a regular competitor at master competitions, including the World Championships of Sand Sculpting, and is an original cast member of the former Travel Channel Show Sand Masters. Long's career in sand sculpting began right here in South Jersey at amateur events like this one.

Long will begin creating his own massive sand sculpture at the festival site in the days prior to the event.

Registration for the contest is FREE and will begin at 9 am on the day of the event. Pre-registration can also be done by emailing matt@sandsculptor.com.

Sculptures will be judged on creativity, execution, composition and overall presentation. Prizes and awards will be presented to the top three winners in each category. There will also be a People's Choice award for Best on the Beach, where the winner is voted by spectator ballot. 

To ensure a level playing field, the contest will have six separate divisions ranging from solo youth and youth groups to solo adult and adult teams. For the sixth straight year, there will also be a pro-am division for participants with more sand sculpting experience.

For additional information, call 609-523-0202 or visit www.WildwoodCrest.org.