AIA Sandcastle Competition: race for the Golden Bucket

June 5, 5:10 PMHouston Art ExaminerAlexandra Gaisbauer

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 Teammates prepare for this Saturday's event

If there is one thing we never grow out of, it's playing in the sand (at least, I haven't). Of course, we all interact with it in different ways. For instance, some of us like to slowly bury our toes in the wet sand, waiting for the clear ocean (or brownish gulf) water to make the ground beneath us disappear. Others would rather avoid the complications of wet sand and instead allow themselves to be entirely buried by a pack of hyper twelve-year olds. And finally, there are those brave souls who live for sandcastles.

I say brave because these people put together effort and creativity for such a brief moment of pride and accomplishment before seeing their kingdom washed away. In that sense, sandcastle-building is all about the process: digging, fetching water, forming shapes, getting sunburned... We see kids running back and forth with huge grins, spilling buckets of water to happily fill up their moat. They then immediately destroy their finished product to move on to something new: the final product is not truly what matters.

Competitors of this weekend's 23rd AIA Sandcastle Competition will definitely tell you otherwise because these young architects and designers are competing for the Golden Bucket! Artistic concept and carving technique are only a few things to consider throughout this event.

Houstonians have been gathering at Galveston's East Beach for over twenty years to witness one of the world's largest sandcastle competitions. So pack up your coolers and head to the beach this Saturday, June 6th. Building begins at 10 am.

For more info: Visit the official website at http://www.aiasandcastle.com/