Story and Photos
By Sara Hall | NB Indy
People gathered from all over on Saturday to watch sand morph into castles, jet-powered turtles, churches and even an archeological dig.
Hundreds crowded onto Corona del Mar State Beach for the 48th Annual Sandcastle Contest presented by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.
There were 18 entries, with the Sand Crabs team grabbing the top prize, the Commodores Award for Overall Best Creation.
The head architect behind the Sand Crabs “Royal Repo” sculpture, Greg Gilger, said he likes his creations to include both humor and drama. The winning design included a tall, detailed castle with a ’foreclosure, for sale’ sign in front and the king and queen sitting on the curb with their luggage and pet dragon.
Other creations included a jet-powered sea turtle, a smiling octopus, a replica of an archeological dig, the steeple of a local church, a mountain with roads and tunnels straight from the pages of “Lord of the Rings,” and more.
