With the 41st annual Sandcastle Classic falling on Halloween weekend, you’d better believe that monsters, jack-o-lanterns, and skeletons got their heads out of the sand for Northern California’s largest sandcastle competition.
The largest sandcastle contest in Northern California takes place right here in San Francisco at Ocean Beach, and this Saturday saw it return for the 41st annual Sandcastle Classic, a benefit for the nonprofit Leap Arts in Education.
But the competitors were not professional or trained sandcastle builders, instead they were 19 teams of third- to fifth-grade students from Bay Area schools (though each team had some help from local architecture, engineering and construction firms). And this year’s Sandcastle Classic featured hardly any castles, but was dominated by spooky Halloween designs of monsters, skeletons, and scary creations that really drew a line in the sand.
Meet your Best in Show winner seen above, a tentacled jack-o-lantern by Team Mall of the Pumpkins. That team consists of Clarendon Elementary School students, with assistance from Whiting Turner Contracting, Syska Hennessy Group, Stantec, Buro Happold, and Introba. Those Clarendon Elementary students proudly took home the Golden Shovel award.
The theme was announced as Halloween Haunts for the October 28 contest, so there were far more scary specimens than proper castles.
The contest was hosted by KOIT DJ Freska. The SF Standard reports there was also a dog costume contest, and that the event raised more than $220,000 to benefit arts education in schools.
Leap Arts in Education executive director Jill Dineen said in a release that arts education is critical for students because it “helps students develop 21st Century skills like critical thinking, collaboration and communication, promotes educational equity, and helps close the achievement gap for our kids. Statistically, a quality arts education gives kids a real shot at reaching their full potential in school and in life.”
Related: Sandcastle Classic Turns Ocean Beach Into a Sea of Glorious Large-Scale Sand Art [SFist]
Images: Leap via Facebook
