Final Results & Data: Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition & Exhibition

The sand sculpting masterpieces at Parksville Community Beach have entertained thousands for five and a half weeks and now it is time to see them fall as the exhibition is deconstructed this week. Seeing the sculptures come down is bittersweet for the Parksville Beach Festival volunteers and staff, but they have much to celebrate, thanks to a strong return to their summer of events.  Gate ambassadors for the 2022 Quality Foods Sand Sculpting exhibition featuring “The Roaring Twenties” recorded 115,217 visitors over the 5-week period, just breaking the 2019 record. Despite the two-year event hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic fall-out, event organizers recognize the attendance results as very strong. “Beach Fest has made a come back!”, commented Cheryl Dill, President, Parksville Beach Festival Society. “We are so pleased with the positive feedback from local residents and visitors” says Dill.  Additional events included Canadian Tire Sculpt Like the Pros sculpting lessons, the Arbutus RV  Artisan Market, Party City Buskers and the Coastal Community Credit Union sculpture light-up, which complimented the Quality Foods Festival of Lights. As well the new Parksville Outdoor Theatre, managed by the society hosted the Tim Horton’s Summer Concert Series and the popular Mid Island Co-op Rock the Park Music Festival.

Over the past 5 weeks, visitors had the opportunity to select their favorite sculptures. Over 102,000 votes were recorded. The artists behind the two most popular sculptures will be presented with The People’s Choice awards. “These are highly coveted awards amongst the master sculptors in our competition,” commented Dill. “People had many favorites but the winners were clear”. The results are below.

People’s Choice Awards: (Visitors to the exhibition voted for their favorite sculptures over the 5-week period)

Solo:   Guy-Olivier Deveau (Quebec); Sculpture Entitled:  “The Algorithm”

Doubles: Guy and Seveline Beauregard (Quebec)   Sculpture Entitled: “I Gotta See a Man about a Dog”

Additional Information from Opening Weekend:

Soloist Results:

1st Place: Dan Belcher (USA) Sculpture Entitled: “Spirit of Aviation“

2nd Place: Guy-Olivier Deveau (Quebec); Sculpture Entitled:  “The Algorithm”

3rd Place Tie: 

Peter Vogelaar (Winlaw, BC) Sculpture Entitled: “Belle”

Damon Langlois (Victoria, BC) Sculpture Entitled:  “And All That Jazz”

5th Place:  Francisco Calvillo (Mexico); Sculpture Entitled: “The Vortex – An Extraordinary Love Story”

Doubles Results

1st Place:  Susanne Ruseler (Netherlands) & Sue McGrew (USA) Sculpture Entitled: “Un Bear a Bull”

2nd Place: Wilfred Stijger & Edith van de Wetering (Netherlands) Sculpture Entitled: “Roarrr!”

3rd Place Tie:

Brian Wigelsworth & Matt Long (USA) Sculpture Entitled: “The Cotton Club”

Fred Dobbs (Mayne Island, BC) & Ted Siebert(USA) Sculpture Entitled: “Badda Bing, Badda Boom!”

Competitors Choice Awards: (Peer selection)

Soloist:   Francisco Calvillo (Mexico) Sculpture Entitled: “The Vortex – An Extraordinary Love Story”

Doubles:  Susanne Ruseler (Netherlands) & Sue McGrew (USA) Sculpture Entitled: “Un Bear a Bull”

Giving Back to our Community  & Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability:  

The mandate of the Parksville Beach Festival Society is to create fun, family-friendly events along side Parksville’s main beach and to support community growth. According to their policies, the Society assigns 25% of their gate proceeds to community projects and philanthropic groups. Contributing to the maintenance and development of the Community Park is also a high priority. Since 1999, the Society has donated $1 Million to non-profit organizations and community projects, which included construction of the park gazebo and community signs. The Society reserves funds annually to help sustain its future events, which can be threatened by such things as inclement weather. For 2022, the Society aims to donate to 25 not-for-profit organizations which served as gate greeters at the entrance to the sand sculpting site during the public exhibition. The exact donation will be determined in the coming weeks.

Cheryl Dill, President, Parksville Beach Festival Society