Sunday, November 18, 2012

"Sanding Ovation" Sand Sculpture Competition

(Avon Park, FL) Hi 73 Lo 62 – Today we went to see "Sanding Ovations," a sand sculpture competition held every year at Treasure Island, just west of St. Petersburg. I read about it last night on Karen and Al’s blog. It’s about a two hour trip, but being Sunday there was very little traffic. We had to go over the Sunshine Skyway, which connects Bradenton with St. Petersburg. I hate that bridge, it’s way too high and over water. Sad smile
IMG_0328

IMG_0332

IMG_0333

We found a parking spot about a block from the beach. Treasure Island is called the Sand Sculpture Capital of the World. Along with the beautiful sculptures, there were many food and craft vendors set up on the white sand beach. There was also a music stage, with live music throughout the day.


Here's some of the sculptures we liked the best. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)
IMG_0343

IMG_0358

IMG_0363

IMG_0366

IMG_0368

The sculptures have to be sprayed down periodically. If they get too dry they can crumble.
IMG_0377

IMG_0382

This one was very popular. The artist (in the dark shirt) was explaining how the shadow on the sundial will form a straight line right at noon. This photo was taken about 15 minutes before noon, so the shadow is almost straight.
IMG_0387

This one is my favorite. This is the front...
IMG_0394

...and this is the back side. It’s as if the girl is fighting demons in her head.
IMG_0399

The vendor area.
IMG_0402

A pirate ship.
IMG_0405

We walked around an hour or so then left to find some lunch. (The prices on the beach were really high!) We found a local buffet restaurant with good food at a good price.

Rather than come straight home we checked out a few RV parks in the Tampa Bay area. We may want to try another park next year, so we plan to visit as many as we can this winter. Why change? Because we can, we have wheels. :) There are a lot of RV parks around, we just have to find one that’s right for us.

We got home just before dark. Jim recorded the last NASCAR race of the season, so we settled in to watch it. It’s great to just pick up and go when and where we want. We love Florida!

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Those sculptures are amazing! Such fun!

Mike and Terri said...

Those sand sculptures are just awesome! I'm always amazed at people's artistic ability and the mediums they use to express their creativity.

Gail Houle said...

Those sand sculptures are awesome!

Paul and Marti Dahl said...

Just be careful not to sneeze around them...

Barbara said...

The Skyway Bridge sure is pretty when you go under it on a cruise ship though. BTW, when we drive over it, I insist on the middle lane!

A couple of newer paintings 2019 said...

Awesome sand sculptures!

Tom and Marci said...

Very cool -- looks like a fun festival!

owensontheroad said...

Wow, so cool to be able to experience that. It's amazing how detailed they can get.

John and Carol said...

What a great road trip. Your pictures are amazing.

Anonymous said...

you take great pics, how do you travel if you hate bridges. my brother does the same thing sort of he is a wood carver

Karen and Al said...

Thank you so much for posting all the pictures. When we were there on Friday the incomplete sculptures were amazing, but so much better when they were finished! Wow!

If you think the new Sunshine Skyway is scary, you should have driven over the old one. It was really scary and high.

I don't know if you ever heard about the Skyway Disaster, but it was a big thing here when it happened. It was knocked down by a huge ship and many people died.

Here is a video if you're interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMjBGLxMdP4

Dan and Tricia said...

The sand sculptures are so cool. They are very talented artists!

Jeannie and Eldy said...

WOW! We will have to remember this...wonder if it's about the same time every year?

St. Patrick's Day - Council Meeting - Concert

 Shalimar, FL   (Hi  63  Lo 47)    I'VE BEEN ASKED THAT THE FONT IT TOO SMALL. JUST DO A CONTROL +  AND IT WILL ENLARGE. CONTROL   -(min...