Parksville Beach Festival rolled out plenty of fun over the weekend with the opening of its 2025 Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition and the Chilliwack ‘Farewell to Friends’ concert.
Both events had strong attendance with close to 9,000 people witnessing the sand sculpting competition and more than 3,000 concertgoers on Saturday evening, according to a news release by Parksville Beach Festival Society.
Sunny and warm weather provided ideal sand sculpting conditions, while circus performers helped to entertain crowds. Thirty competitors were allotted 30 hours to convert 255 yards of sand into astounding sand art.
Parksville Beach Festival Society awarded medals and monetary prizes to sculptors with Peoples’ Choice to be awarded at the end of the exhibition.
Soloist Results:
1st Place: Thomas Koet (USA) – ‘The Juggler’
2nd Place: Manuel Campos (Colombia) – ‘Role Reversal’
3rd Place: Damon Langlois (Victoria) – ‘T.G.I.F.’
4th Place: Abe Waterman (PEI) – ‘The Stinking Process’
5th Place: Marie-Line Gagne (Quebec) – ‘Crescent Moon’
Doubles Results:
1st Place: Fred Dobbs (Mayne Island, B.C.) and Jakub Zimacek (Czech Republic) – ‘Acrobats’
2nd Place: Guy Olivier-Deveau and Isabelle Gasse (Quebec) – ‘Fish Eye’
3rd Place: Susanne Ruseler and Hanneke Supply (Netherlands) – ‘Through Strength and Vulnerability’
Competitors Choice Awards: (Peer selection)
Soloist: Thomas Koet (U.S.) – “The Juggler”
Doubles: Sue McGrew (U.S.) and Dmitry Klimenko (Russia) – “Peace Amid The Storm”
Sculptures will be on exhibit until Sunday, Aug. 17 at Parksville Community Park.
Gates are open from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. Entry by suggested donation of $5.
Visitors may vote for their favourite sculpture resulting in the coveted People’s Choice awards, to be announced at the end of the exhibition.
For the second year, the society hosted an opening weekend concert at the Parksville Outdoor Theatre with sponsorship from Van Roc Interiors, featuring the Canadian Hall of Famers, Chilliwack. Well-loved Johnny Inappropriate from Nanaimo warmed-up the concert goers with their energetic renditions and then Chilliwack delivered their nostalgic hits such as ‘My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)’, ‘Whatcha Gonna Do’ and ‘Fly At Night’.
The dance floor was packed with all ages while the four-man band captured the audiences’ hearts for their final hurrah, including a few encores.
The crowd left the park in excellent shape for more musical entertainment to follow over the next five weekends.
For images and details on other Parksville Beach Festival events in the park, go to parksvillebeachfest.ca
