When you were a kid at the beach, you may have spent your time shaping the perfect sandcastle — until your sibling or a rogue wave demolished your masterpiece.
Now, imagine that same childhood wonder, only bigger and bolder.
That's the magic of Siesta Key's annual sand sculpting festival, where masters from all over the world compete to transform the sand into large, intricate art.
The Siesta Key Crystal Classic is from Friday, Nov. 14, through Monday, Nov. 17. There will be live music, food, sculpting demonstrations and more.
If you're not a professional, there is also an amateur contest on Saturday at 10 a.m. You can learn more on the Siesta Key Classic website.
General admission for adults is $20, senior or military is $18 and children is $12.
On "Florida Matters: Live & Local," host Matthew Peddie spoke with Natalie Gutwein with the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce about the event.
The interview below was edited for clarity and length.
How did the festival begin?
It's a master sand sculpting contest. So, it's four days. It's on Siesta Key.
It started in 2010. There was a gentleman who recognized — he is a master sand sculptor. He had been going all over the world doing these sand sculpting competitions, and he decided that Siesta Key has the best sand. It's white. It's beautiful. It's the quartz crystal. And he said, "It's right here in my backyard. I need to start a sand sculpting competition." And that's kind of how it got started.
What can people expect to see?
There's a master sand sculpting contest. There are 24 artists. It's about 275 tons of sand that will go into one of these. It's not just buckets and sand. It's a lot of work.
When you watch them get in there and do it, they actually use Elmer's glue over the top after they get it together. Apparently, that's biodegradable. Once they get it going, and they get it put together the way they want it, they put a little bit of that over the top, and that it stays.
So the Crystal Classic it's Friday through Monday. The first few days, you can see the artists working, and then they're judged on Sunday at 3 p.m. If you want to see who wins, you can check that out at that time.
But the sculptures are huge, and they vary every year. They do kind of a different thing. But there's also an amateur contest.
There's a quick sand contest where there's audience participation with one of the master sand sculptors. The audience says, "All right, do Star Wars." And so he has to come up with something, and he's got 10 minutes and one bucket of sand to make something really quickly.
There's food, alcohol. There's also a vendor area. There's 75 vendors. You do not have to have a ticket to get into that part of the Crystal Classic.
There's a lot of sand sculptors to see. There's also a kids' play area, so the kids can come; they can make their own little sculptures. And there are some presentations to the kids with some other master sand sculptors to show them what to do and give them some advice.
Where do the sculptors come from?
All over the world. There are some that are here locally. There are some within Florida, but they come from everywhere, and they have to be invited. There are only 24 [master] artists who are allowed to compete.
How complicated is it to get it all set up?
It's weeks in advance. It is a huge undertaking. We work with the county. The people who put it on are there for two weeks, I believe, before the thing actually starts moving the sand around.
And then after it's done, we make sure that we're very conscious of the environment. And on Siesta Key, that means a lot to us. So we make sure that it is exactly the way it started when it's all over.
What should people know if they want to go?
You can go see the sand sculptures. If somebody is local, "I just want to see the vendors," they can do that as well. People come, they look at it, and then they leave.
So if you can use public transportation to get out there, great. There will be parking at other places other than just the main beach, but it is quite the experience. Bring the kids, bring the family, come out.
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Matthew Peddie for "Florida Matters Live & Local." You can listen to the full episode here.
