Sandcastles fit for a king

It takes more than 425 tons of trucked-in sand to be the world's top sand-sculpting event, but that's what Virginia Beach wants.

That's why organizers have beefed up this weekend's North American Sandsculpting Championship. They've added a 300-foot tent to protect the competitors and their works, as well as extending the viewing time from three days to 10.

The 38th Annual Virginia Beach Neptune Festival has run throughout the month, and the sand-sculpting competition is the highlight of the grand finale - Boardwalk Weekend.

For the first time, the championship will charge a $3 admission fee for those older than 12 beginning Friday morning. Organizers said the money would go to defraying costs and improving the contest, which draws sand artists from around the globe.

Whit Collins, vice president of the festival, said the city wants the competition to continue to tantalize, and that means improving it each year, including upping the prize money, stipends and travel assistance. That also means providing options few other contest venues do, such as offering protection from the elements, which should make the event more appealing to sculptors.

Some artists are participating for the first time because of the promise of the shelter, festival spokeswoman Becky Bump said.

A high-quality event can increase tourist traffic and thus help the local economy, Collins said.

"Quite frankly, we want Virginia Beach to be the No. 1 sand-sculpting venue," he said. "We feel that we're taking great strides to get there."

All the other events through Sunday are free, including a series of outdoor concerts along more than 30 blocks of the Boardwalk, a parade and fireworks.

The sand-sculpting event is known as one of the largest competitions of its kind in the United States and will pull in artists from Bulgaria, Singapore and Latvia. Twelve solo artists and 10 doubles teams are expected to participate. Virginia Beach is known for awarding a good chunk of change - $3,000 for the solo winner and $6,000 for the first-place team.

Viewing is free and open to the public until Friday morning. Construction began Wednesday and continues until judging starts Friday afternoon. The sculptures will remain on display until Oct. 9. While adults will pay to peek, children 12 and under will be free.

In addition to the longer display time, organizers will have improved walkways, viewing areas and lighting in the evening, and there will be live music and other entertainment under the tent and more meet-and-greet opportunities with the sculptors, Bump said. Several artists plan to stay longer this year because of the extended schedule, she added.

Last year's solo winner, John Gowdy, has competed in the Virginia Beach contest for about 25 years and says he returns because the event is run with "class and high standards." His sculpture, "Love Never Grows Old," which captured an older couple in an embrace, also won the People's Choice award in 2010.

Even as a seasoned artist who competes internationally, Gowdy welcomes the tent. During previous Neptune Festivals, he's seen vandals come by after hours to destroy sculptors' work, and he remembers a torrential downpour that lasted for days and required him to cover his sculpture in plastic wrap.

"It's pretty bad when you have The Weather Channel crew on site to capture the storm," Gowdy said from Italy in an email interview. "We still managed to make something but it was a real struggle. The pieces suffered and so did the sculptors!"

Lucinda Wierenga, aka Sandy Feet, from Texas has competed in Virginia Beach throughout the years and also appreciates the covered venue. She's also a contest organizer and said via email that she works seven to 10 events a year and isn't aware of any other sheltered competitions.

Charging admission, she said, is a growing trend on the circuit. Virginia Beach offers an attractive purse to first-place winners but lags in monetary awards to those who place lower, she said. As an artist, she is concerned about being fairly compensated for her time.

"Not everyone can win, and the losers worked just as hard as the winners. Most similar events have also gone to charging - and at this event, the spectators will be getting an amazing show for very little money."

Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com