SandBlast 2015 coming in November to Anna Maria Island
HERALD STAFF REPORT
ANNA MARIA ISLAND -- An 80-ton exhibition sculpture at Manatee Public Beach will greet attendees to the America Recycles Day at SandBlast 2015.
SandBlast is a sand sculpture competition with an Open Division for adults and a School Division pairing youth groups with business sponsors to raise funds to support Keep Manatee Beautiful's programs and events.
SandBlast celebrates America Recycles Day on Nov. 15 to encourage Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products.
A professional sand sculpture team called Team Sandtastic will start two days before the event building the huge exhibition sculpture. Teams and the public are invited to the free clinics put on by Team Sandtastic from 5-6 p.m. Nov. 12-13 to learn tips, tricks and techniques of sand sculpting.
A sand-sculpting competition Nov. 8 will involve up to 24 teams creating sculptures with one of the following themes: Free Form, Wildlife or Holiday.
Teams will begin arriving at 8 a.m. Nov. 14 at the Manatee Public Beach to get first pick of the 15-by-15 foot plots. Sculpting commences at 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Judging the sculptures of each theme from 1-2 p.m. will include master sculptors from Team Sandtastic.
Sand sculptures will stay in place for viewing until Dec. 14.
Team Sandtastic set a Guinness World Record for the tallest sand sculpture built by hand in less than 100 hours, a 28-foot 7¼-inch carousel with 240 tons of sand at Georgia's Stone Mountain Park in 1998. The Sarasota-based business specializes in turning sand, and sometimes snow, into masterpieces.
This year's sponsor is the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Anna Maria Island Beach Café is event host at its beachfront on Manatee Public Beach.
To enter or sponsor a teams with a $300 tax-deductible donation, call Keep Manatee Beautiful at 795-8272 or go to manateebeautiful.com for America Recycles Day at SandBlast details and entry form.
This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "SandBlast 2015 coming in November to Anna Maria Island ."