With one of the best names
on the sand sculpting circuit,
Amazin’ Walter McDonald is
also one of the oldest sculptors
– at 71.
The Revere Beach National Sandsculpting Festival’s pre-event coverage often emphasizes entertainment and activities, but the actual sand carving deserves attention too. When the festival launches on July 17th for its 10th Anniversary, attendees will encounter the largest and most impressive group of competing sculptors the venue has hosted.
The 15-person field is being recognized by some as the East Coast’s biggest competition in this category.
Amanda Gourgue, executive director of the Revere Beach Partnership, remarked that “Last year we only had 10 competitors and this year we’ll have 15 sculptors in the field,” “It has been exciting to add sculptors and this being our 10th anniversary, we wanted to go big. It is the most that the Revere Beach festival has ever had. We already have the most fans and now we want to have the most sculptors.”
The expanded competitor roster will occupy a larger footprint along the beach, creating additional space for both artists and visitors to navigate comfortably. This layout should help reduce the congestion that has characterized previous weekends, when crowds sometimes reached ten people deep.
Among the participants are nine returning sculptors and six making their debut at Revere. Three of the newcomers hail from outside the United States—two from Holland and one from Latvia.
California-based Rusty Croft represents one of the new entries. He appeared for two seasons on the Travel Channel program ‘Sand Masters,’ alongside returning competitors Sue McGrew of Tacoma, Washington and Chris Guinto of Key West, Florida. Together they were featured in 25 episodes documenting the professional sand sculpting lifestyle.
Joining the competition is 71-year-old Amazin’ Walter McDonald of South Padre Island, Texas, one of the circuit’s most seasoned competitors and arguably its most colorfully named. Since the early 1980s, McDonald has been sculpting sand and has mentored many of today’s professional competitors. His appearance—reminiscent of a blend between ZZ Top and the Grateful Dead—promises to make him a crowd favorite, much like Acapulco native Ben Probanza has been over the past two years.
These newcomers will face off against three-time champion Jonathan ‘Jobi’ Bouchard from Montreal, widely regarded as one of the field’s most talented sculptors. Bouchard is pursuing an unprecedented fourth consecutive title this year.
The complete roster of sculptors competing includes:
•Dan Doubleday (Treasure Island, FL)
•Dan Belcher (St. Louis)
•Jobi (Montreal)
•Croft (Carmel, CA) *new sculptor
•Justin Gordon (Groveland, MA)
•Chris Guinto (Key West)
•Marianne Guinto (Key West) *new sculptor
•Sandis Kondrats (Latvia) *new sculptor
•Amazin’ Walter McDonald (S. Padre Island, TX) *new sculptor
•Sue McGrew (Tacoma, WA)
•Benjamin Probanza (Acapulco, Mexico)
•Wilfred Stijger (Holland) *new sculptor
•Steve Topazio (Tiverton, RI)
•Edith van de Wetering (Holland) *new sculptor
•Lucinda Wierenga (S. Padre Island, TX)
Setup begins today, July 10th, with competition directors Meredith Corson and Dan Doubleday from Sanding Ovations returning to coordinate logistics. The organization has successfully managed the competition and centerpiece sculpture for several years and has developed a strong connection to Revere Beach and its more than 500,000 annual visitors.
Approximately 350 tons of specialized carving sand from New Hampshire will arrive Friday, July 12th. The centerpiece sculpture work commences Saturday, July 13th.
Organizers are withholding details about this year’s centerpiece theme, though it will draw inspiration from current events in Revere and surrounding communities. Gourgue noted that “To see this year’s sculpture theme, you will have to come down to the Beach,”
After spending four days carving hundreds of tons of sand for the centerpiece, competitors will begin their individual 12-ton allocations on Wednesday, July 17th. The competition runs for four days, concluding at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Using the Sanding Ovations Report Card System, sculptors will evaluate one another’s work across six criteria: Overall impact/Wow factor, Quality of Carving, Usage of Sand, Degree of Difficulty, Originality and Artistic Impression. A People’s Choice Award will also be presented, allowing festival attendees to select their preferred creation.
Children’s sand sculpting classes will operate throughout the competition from Wednesday, July 17th through Saturday, July 20th. Sessions run at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily. Registration occurs 30 minutes before each class on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sandi ‘Castle’ Stirling and Raymond Poirier, both from Dundas, Ontario, will lead the instruction this year.
According to Gourgue, the competition component represents a significant evolution for the festival, establishing it as a premier event within the professional sand sculpting community. She explained that “I know the people who have done this competition in the past do keep their calendar clear for this Festival,” “When they come once, they usually return and Revere Beach has developed a strong reputation out there, we’re told. I think it is because we’re always trying to improve things. This year we’re taking our Festival to a new level and it will set a precedent for the future. Going forward, we’ll look at whether we add two new sculptors every year or one new sculptor. It really gives us momentum.”
Gourgue emphasized the importance of the surrounding festival activities as well. “The whole thing is going to be above and beyond,” she added. “It will be like three festivals in one. There will be the sand sculpting, entertainment non-stop all weekend long and then the extensive amount of food trucks. We’re going to have more food trucks than most Food Truck Festivals.”
Additional details about the Revere Beach National Sand Sculpting Festival are available at www.NationalSandSculptingFestival.com.