Sandcastles wow crowds

Photo: Monique Tamminga

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Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga Photo: Monique Tamminga

 

It’s a good thing sand doesn’t melt because this year’s Penticton Peach Festival Rona Sandcastle competitors dug, shoveled and sculpted under 30-plus degree heat at Skaha Lake beach on Thursday night.

The heat didn’t seem to deter the happy mood of the competitors and the huge crowds who turned out to admire the dozen or more sand creations. 

From a Snowbirds plane to a massive sundial, music box creation and an accurate depiction of the Coliseum – the sandcastles impressed again this year.

In the end, Eric and the Sand Worms from Saskatoon won in the family category for their rendition of the Roman Coliseum. 

In the corporate division, it was newcomers, the Baldwin family from Edmonton, with their ode to classic rock called ‘Squawking Music.’ 

“Twelve years we’ve been walking by the sandcastle competition, so we decided to enter this year. They all squawked about doing it so that’s how we got the name,” said Dolores Baldwin.

Their sandcastle had music albums from legends like the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, BTO and others, surrounded by musical notes.

The Baldwins won $400 for their efforts. 

They are donating the entire amount back to Children’s Hospital in honour of their daughter Teanna who died from leukemia at the age of five. She passed away 13 years ago.

“Coming here every summer has been the beginning of our new normal,” said the Baldwins. 

Penticton Sunrise Rotary once again organized the fun Peach Fest event. 

“The amount of entries are down from last year because of the heat,” said longtime Rotary volunteer Rick Covell. “But it’s a great turnout of spectators taking in the fun. We also had a lot of kids entries so that was great to see.”

It’s $50 for corporate entries, $25 for families, and only $10 for kids. All the entry fees go to Rotary and the Skaha Community Project Society which helps raise money for local projects. 

“This wouldn’t be possible without all our amazing sponsors like Rona, the Penticton Firefighters, Peach Fest, St. John Ambulance, Red Cross and Skaha Pizza,” he said. 

Firefighters brought their hoses down prior to the competition to wet down the sand to make it easier to mold and shape. 

Then at 5:30 p.m., competitors took out their buckets, shovels, shaping tools and hands to bring their creations to life. 

Residents of the newly opened Compass Court housing created a sundial that also resembled a starfish.

“It’s a compass that guides us to the stars, pointing to the winners,” said Compass Court program coordinator Andrea Graham.

Rona Penticton always puts together an eye-catching sandcastle that usually involves real people stuck in the sand creation.

“We’ve won a few years in a row so we have thrown down the gauntlet to defend our title,” said Rona store manager Chad Mielke. 

Rona’s entry was of a huge Snowbird plane with 10-year-old pilot Lily stuck waist high in the cockpit.

There were a lot of impressive kids’ creations, with Garfield, the cat, winning the kids category. Four Penticton kids recreated Peach Fest with the Gyro Park bandshell, Snowbirds, Ogopogo, Lickety Splits ice cream and a Peach Fest 2019 sign. 

“It took about an hour to do. It was really fun,” said Emma Bird, 10, who along with Chelsea Bird, 10, and Jonathan Schutz, 10, and sister Caitlin, 12, worked on the sandcastle.