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Sand in the City
Sand in the City Sand Sculpting Demonstration
Where can you find a sandcastle building contest right in the middle of a city? Portland, Oregon. Sand in the City takes place in Pioneer Courthouse square right downtown Portland where 450 tons of sand is brought in for one weekend each July. Teams gather to build these giant sculptures, working all day Friday. Saturday the masterpieces are on display to the public. The weekend also hosts lots of music, puppet shows, sand sculpting demonstrations, vendors and a kids’ craft and face painting village. On Saturday night they go Hawaiian with a Hula Halau.
The whole weekend is a huge charity event for Kids on the Block. This organization uses puppets to create plays made to teach children about today’s tough situations. The plays are about:
1. Safety issues like bullying and discrimination
2. Health issues like obesity and drug abuse
3. Social issues like divorce, culture and managing emotions.
For 13 years, Sand in the City has raised thousands of dollars to support Kids on the Block.
Kids on the Block
There were 15 teams made up of employees from businesses all over Portland. The contest provides opportunity for team building as well as marketing for these companies. Each team creates a theme revolving around children such as “Be a Hero – Mentor a Child”, “Family Game Night” and “Dragin Away from TV”.
You can vote for your favorite sculpture throughout the weekend. This people’s choice award is announced Sunday afternoon. The sculptures are judged Friday night by professionals. The grand prize: the golden shovel!
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
What a fun and innovative event.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:14 am
Definitely a little fancier than the pail and shovel models I used make with the kids. I would love to try this out someday.