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29 Comments
- SpikeX, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16Er... On a more manly note... how about some big sand *****?
- dragoneye, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Thats fairly close to where I live, its much better to see in person. The detail is amazing. The only thing that I haven't been able to figure out is how they get them to keep standing when they dry out, there must be something added to the sand.
BTW the beach where it is held is one of the nicest beaches on vancouver island - thetaco82, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13This is probably the soy talking, but I'd like to see a huge sandpenis.
- Eidola, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5They do NOT mix cement into the sand at these competitions.
For one, after a few competitions the grains of sand would get larger and larger until you had a beach of rather sharp pebbles instead of nice sand.
If you go do some research you will find they make forms, shovel the sand into the form, add water and tamp down until the sand is very hard packed.
They keep doing this until they have as much sand built up as needed for the sculpture, then they work at carving the sculpture out of the block of packed sand.
Often the sculptures are sprayed with a biodegradable agent to protect them for judging and viewing by the public.
Using cement would make no sense whatsoever as you would have to remove all the sand after the competition was over... go do a Google search for sand sculpting, I got the above info from no less then three sand sculpting sites, two competition sites in BC, Canada and the other from a company that makes sculptures. :) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5We have to be manly? Good to know that you're invested in performing your masculinity for us. Note: the irony of demanding more masculinity as you post on a comment on a dorky website, on a story about sand sculptures is painfully awesome.
- rhettnyedotorg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4huh huh huh i'm from canaduh eh. we here on the west coast enjoy Seattle-like weather all year round, at least in southern coastal regions (which is where Parsville is.)
I even heard that Paksville gets the lowest amount of rain of anywhere on our coast. Rain shadow, you know.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Parksville,+BC&ie=UTF8&z=6&ll=49.267805,-122.958984&spn=9.495271,27.773438&t=h&om=1&iwloc=addr - Rikushix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Parksville is amazing...Rath Trevor is the best campground in BC. And then theres the sand competition...well you just got your summer vacation right there ;)
- burtonbe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6God I love the San Juan/Gulf Islands. Everything is so beautiful up there.
- Lord_Mizaru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I love Parksville so much. I can't believe how many people in the comments seem to be from around there. Anybody who's ever in Parksville has to go and play the mini golf. Trust me :P
- MrZop, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I'm In Parksville right now and i was there when they were creating these sculptures and i voted on them as well. they were amazing. i'm also amazed it was on digg.
I'm going to go look for myself in the pics. and maybe add some of my photos to my Flikr. - virtualball, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Those darn canucks and there talented sand skills. :P
- ecstaticist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Hey everyone, the photos are mine. Thanks to everyone who visited. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how my viewership had jumped this morning. The sand sculpture set has been viewed over 35,000 time since this story was posted. Thanks to savingadvice for the original digg. I couldn't figure it out where the traffic was coming fromuntil someone posted a comment and I asked directly. Someone should sell "I've Been Dugg" t-shirts.
- graemee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Sand is what you put on ice for safer driving. This is what we do in the short summer with the piles of winter sand, seems there's a lot of sand piles.
- rhettnyedotorg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i think diggnation should shoot up here. maybe mt. washington, they seem to like to snowboard? live cam:
http://www.mountwashington.ca/conditions/snowcam.cfm - marinist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Thanks for the tip; I used to live up that way, and I'll check it out next time I visit.
Btw, I think you can spray the sand with lime to strengthen it. - clintonforbes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3The 'sand' that they work with has more of a 'mud' consistency. They add a little bit of cement otherwise they would never achieve the amazing structures that they do. I think it only makes them about 3% less impressive.
- 123kite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Vancouver Canada is amazing!, see the balanced stones art in Vancouver:
http://www.2010cards.com/freevancard/balanced-stones.php - curtisrobb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1which country actually won?
- MrZop, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I found the back of my head!
Parksville is amazing. the beach is awesome, when the tide is out you can walk about a half mile out and it will only be knee-deep. the city has an amazing community and great views and attractions.
If you come, stay at OceanTrails Resort. Go Mini-Golfing, Check Out Coombs Country Market (They have goats that live on the roof), and check out the beach!
I live in Vancouver, but i visit parksville whenever i can.
Dugg From Parksville! - zenatek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I live in Parksville and am also really amazed to see the amount of people who know about Parksville. I would say more but my wife is making me take the garbage out.
- dragoneye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Parksville is really nice. I get to visit there quite often since my grandparents live there.
I definitely agree with the minigolf, the one in town is better than the one out by Rathtrevor though. If you are willing to rough it a bit with camping, you can't go wrong with Rathtrevor Provincial Park. Coombs it cool too, definitely go see Butterfly World in addition to Coombs Country Market. - bradkovach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Besides the fact that these photos are being delivered digitally, how do they fit into the technology category?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Parksville is a pretty funny name. It's like Townsburg, or Villageville. I wish more places had names like that.
- lisaedwardsen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm thrilled to see the 2006 photos on Digg. I missed the competition last year for the first time in many, so it's great to sit down at my computer this morning and get to see the whole show!
I love Parksville and would spend every minute in the summer there IF I didn't have to work! - Rikushix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Coombs County market is the *****. I've always wanted to go on the roof and pet the goats...maybe some day...
Oh and Paradise Mini Golf is actually the best mini golf i've ever played in my entire life. It's so well done.
Rikushix - sandyfeet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The Parksville contest has been around for a long time -- I was the first woman ever invited to compete there back in the mid-nineties. A few years ago there was something like a riot and they didn't have a contest for a couple of years -- I am glad they brought it back. Anyone who is interested in professional sand sculpture can find lots of good info and photos at http://www.sandcastlecentral.com.
- aznghetto456, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I wonder if the winner won a gold plated shovel and bucket...
- hiPpymIck, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1.....and not a watermelon in sight!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4its not just ice up there? very artistic :)
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