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Treasure Island hosts Sanding Ovations
| Article published on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 |
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TREASURE ISLAND – The “sand people” are heading to Treasure Island for the inaugural Sanding Ovations Master Sand Sculpting Competition and Music Festival , Nov. 19-22, on the beach behind the Bilmar Beach Resort in Treasure Island.
Presented by the City of Treasure Island Parks and Recreation and Bud Light Lime, this first-time ever event is expected to draw thousands of spectators, hundreds of weekend sand sculpting enthusiasts and eight of the best master sand sculptors in the world.
The masterful exhibition of sand sculpting talent at the world-class level is the big appeal, supplemented by the giant sponsor sculpture created by Treasure Island’s own Meredith Corson of Sanding Ovations professional sand sculptors.
While sand sculptures line the beach, beachgoers can enjoy three days of food, drink, arts and crafts vendors, plus live music on the Landshark Lager Stage Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Hear some fine bluegrass pickin’ with Cornfused on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by perennial rockin’ favorites The Greg Billings Band.
Saturday, the biggest day of the event, includes fireworks on the beach at 8 p.m. and an excellent lineup of local bands starting at 4:30 p.m.: alt-country rockers Experimental Pilot, blues guitar slinger Sarasota Slim, and “The Rocket Man Show” starring Rus Anderson as Elton John.
Sunday afternoon, WMNF’s Pete Gallagher hosts the Florida Music Jam, a six-hour beach jam featuring a wide variety of local musicians.
The line-up of visiting master sculptors is most impressive: Carl Jara, the reigning solo World Champion, of Cleveland, Ohio; Karen Fralich, three-time World Champion, of Toronto, Ontario; Dan Doubleday, two-time World Champion, of Treasure Island; Katie Corning, celebrity competitor on the Travel Channel’s television hit, Sand Blasters III, of Ft. Myers Beach, Florida; Rusty Croft, part of the team that created Treasure Islands’ World’s Largest Sand Castle in 1985 and 86, of Park City, Utah; Brad Goll,10 time World Champion Team, of Austin, Texas; Matt Long, 2 time medalist and creator of “Can You Dig It Sand Tools,” of New York, NY; and Lucinda “Sandy Feet” Wierenga, of the Travel Channel’s “SandBlaster” series and author of amazon.com best seller “Sandcastles Made Simple,” of South Padre Island, Texas.
Using 150 tons of sand from Davenport, sculpting begins at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19 and continues until 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21.
More than $10,000 in sand sculpting awards will be presented at 6 p.m. Saturday, including the “People’s Choice” award.
Produced in cooperation with the Treasure Island Chamber of Commerce, Sanding Ovations is free and open to the public. Parking on the beach at 112th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard is available for $10.
For more details, the event schedule, sand sculptor bio’s, and other Sanding Ovations info, go to www.mytreasureisland.org/sandingovations.htm or call TI Parks & Recreation at 727-547-4575, ext. 237.
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Article published on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009
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