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3rd Jun 09
PelicanPublisher
CANNON BEACH, OR – There are giant plans for the 45th annual Sandcastle Weekend in Cannon Beach, Saturday, June 12 and 13. A 35-foot-long sand sculpture of Gulliver will begin construction on Wednesday, June 10 with five truckloads of sand. The enormous undertaking is a throwback to the early days of Cannon Beach’s most famous event when the community would come together to create a large sculpture the week of the long-running sandcastle contest.
The actual sandcastle contest begins Saturday, June 13 with Masters category entrants beginning sculpting at 8am and all others beginning at 9am. Judging will take place at noon for children’s creations and 1pm for others. Onlookers are welcome to view the construction from the perimeter of the sculpting area. Radio Disney will announce winners at approximately 1:45pm.
Other events for the weekend include a town picture to be taken at 7pm on Wednesday following the construction of Gulliver, with a bonfire to follow. On Friday, June 12, Michael and Fran Vellings, Master sand sculptors for 20 years, will teach a free sculpting class on the beach off 2nd Avenue from 3-5pm. In addition to the sandcastle contest on Saturday, the band Sam Bam Boo will perform in the City Park at 3:30 and 5pm with a break for a dog talent contest, “Americanine Idol,” at 4:30. Prizes will be awarded for the most talented pooches.
The sculpture of Gulliver will be constructed high on the beach at the foot of Washington Street in hopes that it will be there for all to see through Saturday.Artist Bill Steidel, an integral part of Cannon Beach’s arts scene since the 1970s created the original drawing that will be followed for the construction of the classic literary character tied down with ropes on the beach in Lilliput. Steidel recalls a huge dragon that was sculpted one year where they made smoke come out of the mouth. Another year, a whale was constructed that was so large, they used a ladder to get on top and held children by their ankles to smooth the sides of the big creation.
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