Competitors to sculpt castles, 'Cars' characters on makeshift beach
By JAN HOGAN
VIEW STAFF WRITER
Special to ViewTeams work to complete their creations during last year?s Free Sandcastle Building and Movie in the Park event. This year?s contest will be held on Saturday at Becker Community School, 9110 Hillpointe Road, with sandcastle building kicking off at 6:30 p.m.
Participants take a break during last year?s sandcastle-building competition. Organizers say about 150 people came out, and an equal number is expected at this year?s event.Special to view
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Once again, the beach comes to Las Vegas -- well, sort of.
The 14th annual Free Sandcastle Building and Movie in the Park event is planned for 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday at Becker Community School, 9110 Hillpointe Road. There will be snow cones and popcorn for sale.
This year's theme is "Cars" to denote the featured movie of the same name. In past years, the event has offered movies such as "The Little Mermaid," "Finding Nemo" and "Viva Las Vegas."
Participants have the option of building a sandcastle or making a 3-D character from the movie, such as Lightening McQueen, Mater, Sally or Doc.
The volleyball court is used for the event. It's divided in half to separate those who want to make castles and those who opt for the "Cars" theme. To prepare for the event, staff members water down the sand, starting the day before.
"People get really detailed," said Erin Coburn, coordinator for Becker Community School. "They'll make moats or bring baking soda and vinegar to have a volcano."
Other people have used toy figurines to put a damsel in distress atop their castle turret or plastic trees to add landscaping elements. Castles normally are no taller than a bucket of sand.
Each year, prizes vary. The staff wasn't giving out hints, but said previous years saw summer toys and popcorn gift baskets being awarded to the winners.
Darlene Prince, administrative assistant, said roughly 150 people show up for the sandy event, mostly families who work together on projects.
"People like it because it's a fun, family event," she said.
The castle building begins at 6:30 p.m. Some people show up on the dot to claim the best spots for their artistic endeavors and make the most of their 45 minutes of building time.
Residents arrive with buckets and shaping tools in hand. Some bring a page torn from a magazine for reference.
"We provide some toys and tools," Prince said. "But we're also the judges, so we can't help too much."
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