The Sandcastle Classic is a fund raising event for Leap...imagination in learning. Leap is a private, non-profit arts education organization. The mission of the program is to stimulate imagination and creativity in Bay Area children by bringing visual and performing artists and architects into the classroom for extended residencies. Leap's 25th Annual Sandcastle Classic took place on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at Ocean Beach.
This year's Sandcastle Classic consisted of 24 teams. Each team included an architecture firm, a construction company and elementary school students. The teams spent a few weeks before the contest coming up with a theme for their sandcastle which also translated into: a small plaster model of the finished sandcastle, a logo, a t-shirt and a banner. They all worked collaboratively on the planning process and all rallied together early Saturday morning to create their sand sculptures.
I arrived at 7am to help the program director and the events committee set up for the event. This process involved lots of carrying tables, huffing and puffing for air and getting rained on. Once all the booths were set up and the plots of sand were marked off for each team, a few hours had whizzed by and teams had started arriving to set up their spots and check-in. I worked registration, making sure that each team donated a few team shirts for us to sell, turned in all student permission forms for the event, and were situated in their proper site number.
I spent most of the day watching the event from my little perch in the parking lot while selling small snacks and t-shirts to anyone and everyone who wanted one. People began trickling in after the drizzles disappeared and soon the beach was filled. The quiet, empty beach had turned into a swarming mass of people. The sand also started to shift, slowly but surely being stomped, molded, watered and sculpted into fantastically awesome sand sculptures. I walked around the sites on breaks, mesmerized by the hard-work and devotion of each and every team member. Not only were the architects and construction workers hard at work on the sculptures, but the kids were energized and excited about making their own giant sandcastle.
The Sandcastle Classic was one of the most amazing fundraisers I have ever seen, not because of the spectacular castles that were built, but because the children that were involved were so engaged and so excited about being a part of something that was so big. This event wasn't about raising money to them, or even about the organization, it was about being a part of a team and creating something that they had envisioned from start to finish. I think they were able to not only have some fun on the beach, but also inadvertently gain some experience working in teams to accomplish something much bigger than themselves. The children all left the event with huge smiles of accomplishment on their faces, bursting with pride at the sculptures that they had created.
After the sandcastle building was done, I stood and watched one team furiously digging a canal towards their castle. Their sandcastle was made of mounds of sand with small towers on them with a large, deep moat. The canal that they had created was long enough that it reached the edge of where the waves washed up onto the beach. We all stood and watched as the next large wave crashed up onto the shore and the water flowed through their canal into their moat. It was the first time that the water had reached the castle and filled their moat. The kids began screaming and shouting for joy, and overcome with excitement, they all jumped into the moat and began splashing and playing in the water. They completely forgot about the judging that was still taking place or that they were smashing their castle by sliding down the sides of the castle to get into the moat; all they cared about was the fact that their hard work and determination had paid off and that their sandcastle was now complete. The scene brought tears to my eyes because of the overwhelming excitement that the moment had caused for those kids.
It made me realize that THIS is what it was about...giving kids a chance to accomplish something that they are proud and excited about. I stood there watching them run around their sandcastle laughing and splashing in the water, thinking to myself that this is exactly where I want and need to be.
Photos courtesy of Kellie Kawahara
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