Sand sculpture competition takes over New River Beach in New Brunswick

Thousands of people made their way out to New Brunswick’s New River Beach Saturday for the 2024 Sand Sculpture Competition.

Over 100 teams were registered for the event, the most ever for the competition now in its 37th year. Sculptors and their teams competed in either the adult, family/group, or youth categories.

Sculptors arrived on the beach before 8 a.m. to begin their sand creations, with judging beginning at 2 p.m. Winners in their respective categories received various awards and prizes for their efforts.

“The tides have to match up perfectly so there's only one weekend that you we can do this in the summertime,” says event sponsor Darryl Daigle. “There's a lot of people who return year after year because it is such an event.”

Sand sculptures ranged from traditional sand castles, various sea creatures, and even one of Garfield enjoying a tan at the beach.

Nick Fraser is one of the competitors, and has always enjoyed building sand sculptures. He says he was introduced to the contest at a young age when his family took him to see the competition during his youth.

“The energy on the beach is amazing,” says Fraser, who along with his team was creating a sand sculpture of a kraken sea monster attacking a ship. “It's nice to have these kind of events and get this many people out on a beautiful sunny day with some friends, sculpting fun stuff and maybe win some prizes.”

A sculptor works on her sand turtle. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)

He says the spectators were very kind and complementary of his teams work, and as much as it was a competition everyone was happy to support and cheer on one another.

He says the easiest part of sculpting is the first few hours when it mostly involves shovelling, but by no means is it simple, according to Fraser.

“It is a lot of manual labor,” jokes Fraser. “The hard part is probably making sure that things don't fall apart. The sun dries out the sand really fast, and so you kind of are basically constantly trying to keep the sand wet. At the same time, you have to progress the sculpture so you can't just be keeping it wet so that kind of balance is tricky.”

The entirety of the more than one kilometre stretch along the Bay of Fundy at New River Beach was covered by both those competing, and fans who came out to experience the creations firsthand.

“It's just very unique,” says friends Karson Hannan and Greyson Oreylly. “It's just very cool how they make it with the water. It's super cool.”

“It's awesome,” says Glenda Saunders, who makes an effort to come and see the competition every year.

Sculptors began working on their creations as early as 7:45 a.m. at New River Beach on July 27, 2024. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)

For others it was only their first time seeing the sand sculptures in person, and certainly won’t be their last.

“This is off the charts,” a group of women told CTV. “I’ve been in New Brunswick for a lot of years and this is my first time here and I’m just loving it.”

Even experienced sand sculptors were in for a special treat with three-time World Sand Sculpting Champion Karen Fralich in attendance for a special demonstration sculpture. She made a sculpture of the sea King Neptune for fans to enjoy.

She has been involved in sand sculpting for 30 years, and has become her full-time job for the past 23 years.

“I love everything about sand sculpture,” Fralich beams. “You get to go to the beach, you get to travel, you get to meet great people, and do all sorts of crazy stuff really, really, really fast. It’s a very physical, dirty job and it’s awesome.”

This year marks her first time at New River Beach for the event, calling it a one-of-a-kind beach. She admits she has been blown away from the energy from both fellow sculptors and fans taking in the scenes.

“I never ever get tired of people's love of sand sculpture and their fascination,” says Fralich. “They turn into little kids no matter how old they are.”

While the famous Bay of Fundy tides will see the sculptures washed away before long, Fralich says the sand creations can last months and sometimes even years.

On Sunday, Fralich will be hosting workshops back at New River to offer tips and tricks on how to create world class sand sculptures. There will also be a “boat parade” featuring all the vessels that call the Bay of Fundy home for residents to check out.

Click here for a photo gallery showcasing the 2024 Sand Sculpture competition. 

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