IMPERIAL BEACH
Even without the massive, multi-ton intricate sculptures that Imperial Beach made famous for years, the allure of sandcastles remains as constant as the tide.
Thousands of people flocked to the most southwesterly corner of the continental United States on Saturday for the annual Sun and Sea Festival, where food and music were in abundance but persistent sewage contamination helped derail the usual master sandcastle builders competition.
The event did feature one giant sculpture — 120 tons of sand shaped into an ’80’s-themed replica cassette player surrounded by Pac-Man machines and goblins at the foot of Portwood Pier.
But the competition part of the day was instead focused on a children’s sandcastle-building contest that attracted 10 teams from all over the region. The winners were a trio of brothers whose parents and grandparents took home the honors decades ago.
“This is a third-generation win,” said Phil Benham, a pilot who grew up blocks away from the pier and took home a few trophies himself in his youth.
“We are probably four- to five-time winners in the early sandcastle contests, when this event would bring up to 50,000 people to Imperial Beach,” he said. The boys “are from a long legacy of sandcastle builders.”
The winning entry was dubbed “Brothers Club,” a reference to the Parry siblings: Julian, 10; August, 8; and Leo, 5.
Julian said he came up with the idea of the Mt. Vesuvius-style mountain looming above a castle featuring a number of turrets and pathways after reading about the famous volcano. When the judges appeared he poured buckets of water from the volcano to mimic lava flow.
“I read a book about it, but it was really my brother’s idea,” the oldest sibling said.
Organizers said they decided against the master-building category due to lagging sponsorships and persistent sewage from Tijuana that so often pollutes the Imperial Beach waterfront.
The giant sculptures from years past require hundreds of gallons of seawater to construct, and a recent intrusion made using that unsafe. The children competing Saturday used water delivered in portable wading pools to prevent any contamination.
“This is such a beloved festival that generation after generation of Imperial Beach locals love,” said Julie Walke, a spokesperson for the event. “Imperial Beach is all about sandcastles. This is a rebuilding year.”
The contest attracted 10 teams of up to five kids each.
The young sculptors began their work just after 9:30 a.m., erecting their entries in 10-foot by 10-foot sections of beach roped off by orange tape just north of the pier.
Everett Waters, who is 8 and hails from San Carlos, organized a sandcastle-building team from his friend group at the Mission Valley gymnastics team. The “Tide Defenders” took third place when it was all done.
“We used lots of shapers to slope it and we used lots of water to shape it out,” Everett said of his team’s creation. “Then we dug a moat to make a bridge, and we also made a road with little cities in it.”
Michael Simms, who also helped organize this year’s festival, said sandcastles will continue to attract fans and contribute to generations of memories even without the master builder this year.
“It’s dirt that gets turned into something beautiful,” he said. “It’s ephemeral. It’s there for a short time, and when the tide comes in it’s gone.”
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