The Revere Beach Partnership and sponsors of the Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival have wowed upwards of a million visitors for the last 14 years to witness some amazing sculptures. And this year will be no exception.
With more than 350 tons of special granite sand brought in last Friday from Hudson, New Hampshire, the festival will embrace the theme of “Celebrating Literacy” this year according to Erin Lynch, executive director of the Revere Beach Partnership.
This year’s festival will run Friday, July 20 — Sunday, July 22 with Cirque du Soleil Luzia performing at noon on Saturday and a fireworks display on Saturday night. There will also be over 20 food trucks and several live bands performing throughout the festival.
The 2018 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival will serve to provide an artistic representation and celebration of literary works of art throughout different childhood generations.
“We have a storybook castle as the centerpiece this year,” Lynch said Sunday morning as she watched the work unfold. Sculptures have until 2 p.m. Saturday to work their magic. She noted that one portion of the centerpiece is from a favorite book of hers, “A Very Hungry Caterpillar,” by Eric Carle.
“We’re celebrating literacy over the decades for children of all ages, teenagers and adults,” Lynch said.
There will be 15 sculptors and a centerpiece for people to see. Each sculpture is decided upon by the artist.
Sculptors include:
Helena Bangert of the Netherlands
Deborah Barrett/Cutulle of Saugus, Massachusetts
Mélineige Beauregard of Quebec, Canada
Jonathan ‘Jobi’ Bouchard of Montreal, Canada
Enguerrand David of Belgium
Ilya Filmonstev of Russia
Remy Hoggard of Bulgaria
Paul Hoggard of England
Sue McGrew of Tacoma, Washington
Fergus Mulvany of Ireland
Pavel Mylnikov of Moscow, Russia
Rachel Stubbs of England
Steve Topazio of Tiverton, Rhode Island
Abe Waterman of Prince Edward Island, Canada
Jaku ‘Kuba’ Zimacek of the Czech Republic
Cutulle and Topazio have worked together two years ago, but this year are going solo. Cutulle has a plan she is not sharing and Topazio said his piece may be a little on the “dark side.” For Bangert, she said that she often has a problem of having too many ideas.
The annual festival draws upwards of 1,000,000 spectators from all over the country who come to watch master sand sculptors compete for first prize in the Master Sand Sculpting Competition. The festival also features gourmet food trucks, live entertainment, local vendors, exhibitor booths, children’s sand sculpting lessons, and fireworks all over the course of 3 days.
This year’s sponsors include RedBull, Global Petroleum, CDM Smith, Atlantic Properties, Geico, The HYM Investment Group, Eastern Bank, Wheelabrator, Sparkling Ice, Chevrolet, MGH Revere, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, Xfinity, D’Ambrosio Brown LLP, T-Mobile, AL Prime Energy, Today’s Collision, Kelly’s Roast Beef, Honest Tea (Coca Cola), RedGate, Save The Harbor Save the Bay, Speaker of the House Representative Robert DeLeo, Massachusetts Port Authority, Natural Bliss, and Envision Hotel.
Hours for the 2018 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival on Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21 are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, July 22 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. It is recommended to use the MBTA and public transportation to and from this event. The MBTA Blue Line can be taken to the Wonderland or Revere Beach stops. Parking is also available at the Wonderland Garage. For more information about the event or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.internationalsandsculptingfestival.com.
Road closures for Sandsculpting Fest
There is no doubt traffic related to the Sand Sculpturing Festival will be noticeable during the next couple of days, and those coming to the beach are encouraged to take public transportation, ride share services because there will be little parking.
Police Chief James Guido said there will be no shuttle from Suffolk Downs this year. He said last year they did have it, and it was not used by as many people as they had hoped. He encourages people to park in the Wonderland Garage and the Wonderland Marketplace parking lot.
“During the fireworks there will be huge traffic tie-ups for at least an hour,” Guido said, noting Revere Street, Ocean Avenue, Revere Beach Boulevard and American Legion Highway will be impacted Saturday night. “We’ll do the best we can.”
Revere Beach Boulevard will be closed from Elliot Circle to Chester Avenue from Friday, July 20, at 7 a.m. until Sunday, July 22, at 11 p.m.
After the Fireworks on Saturday night, Ocean Avenue will be closed for approximately one hour to allow pedestrians to exit safely.
Parking will be extremely limited throughout the entire event, so visitors are urged to please use public transportation if possible.
State Police troopers will conduct high visibility patrols along the venue and will be present to assist the public in case of any emergencies or safety concerns. Anyone in need of assistance should call 911 on their cell phone or approach a trooper on the beach.
The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad will be on scene Friday-Sunday and all bags and coolers are subject to search.
The public is asked to respect the rights of other festival visitors and beach goers. If any visitor to the beach sees anyone or anything suspicious, or anyone or anything that seems out of place for their surroundings, please report it to a Trooper or call 911 immediately.
Please note also that alcohol, drugs and weapons are prohibited on the beach.