The sand sculpting masterpieces at Parksville Community Beach have entertained thousands for five-and-a-half weeks and now it is time to see them fall as the exhibition is deconstructed this week.
Gate ambassadors for the 2024 Quality Foods Sand Sculpting exhibition recorded 115,203 visitors and event organizers noted a six per cent increase over last year, according to a news release by the Parksville Beach Festival Society.
Seeing the sculptures come down is bittersweet for the Parksville Beach Festival volunteers and staff, but they have much to celebrate, thanks to a very successful summer.
“Strong visitor attendance is due to a fabulous exhibition, excellent weather and fewer challenges such as air quality and ferry transportation," said Cheryl Dill, society president. “The positive feedback from local residents and visitors is so encouraging for our hard-working volunteers and staff."
Additional events included Canadian Tire Sculpt Like the Pros sculpting lessons, the Artisan Market, Party City Buskers and the Coastal Community Credit Union sculpture light-up, which boosted the attendance on the final weekend.
The Parksville Outdoor Theatre, in its third season managed by the society, featured a sold-out opening weekend concert with Canadian Hall of Fame band Trooper.
The popular Tim Hortons Summer Concert Series and the Mid Island Co-op Rock the Park Music Festival also saw increases in attendance.
The Parksville Beach Festival culminated with the Carol Riera-Remax Symphony by the Sea concert — an engaging performance by the Vancouver Island Symphony.
Entertainment director Lloyd Derry said he is delighted with these successful theatre events.
“The positive feedback from audience members and performers regarding the quality of sound and performances at the outdoor theatre has been marvellous,” said Derry.
During the festival, visitors had the opportunity to select their favourite sculptures — and more than 105,000 votes were recorded.
The artists behind the two most popular sculptures will be presented with The People’s Choice awards.
“Master sculptors in our competition await these results as this award is highly coveted,” said Dill. “People had many favourites but the winners were clear."
People’s Choice Awards:
Solo: Manuel Campos (Colombia): sculpture entitled 'The Guardian of Light'
Doubles: Sue McGrew (U.S.) and Dmitry Klimenko (Russia): sculpture entitled 'Connection'
The afternoon of Aug. 19, once various obstacles are removed, the society welcomed a group with visual impairments and blindness to experience the sand sculptures through touch before they were deconstructed. Improving accessibility is a goal for the society and they are eager to learn from this initiative.
The mandate of the Parksville Beach Festival Society is to create fun, family-friendly events alongside Parksville’s main beach and to support community growth.
According to their policies, the society assigns 25 per cent of their gate proceeds to community projects and philanthropic groups. Contributing to the maintenance and development of the Community Park is also a high priority.
Since 1999, the society has donated more than $1.1 million to numerous non-profit organizations and community projects, which included construction of the park gazebo, community signs and the new Parksville Outdoor Theatre.
The society reserves funds annually to help sustain its future events. For 2024, the society aims to donate to 21 not-for-profit organizations, which welcomed visitors at the exhibition entrance and provided service at the souvenir booth. The exact donation will be determined in the coming weeks.
