Parksville Beach Festival rolled out plenty of fun over the weekend with the opening of 2025 Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition and the Chilliwack Farewell to Friends concert. Both events had strong attendance with close to 9,000 people witnessing jaw-dropping sculpting underway and over 3000 concertgoers on Saturday evening. Sunny and warm weather provided ideal sand sculpting conditions, while circus performers helped to entertain crowds.  Thirty competitors were allotted 30 hours to convert 255 yards of sand into astounding sand art. Parksville Beach Festival Society awarded medals and monetary prizes to sculptors with Peoples’ Choice to be awarded at the end of the exhibition. The results of the competition are below.

Soloist Results:

1st Place: Thomas Koet (USA); Sculpture Entitled: “The Juggler”

2nd Place: Manuel Campos (Colombia); Sculpture Entitled:  “Role Reversal”

3rd Place:  Damon Langlois (Victoria, BC);Sculpture Entitled: ”T.G.I.F.”

4th Place: Abe Waterman (PEI); Sculpture Entitled: “The Stinking Process”

5th Place:  Marie-Line Gagne (Quebec); Sculpture Entitled:  “Crescent Moon”

Doubles Results

1st Place:  Fred Dobbs (Mayne Island, BC), Jakub Zimacek (Czech Republic); Sculpture Entitled:“Acrobats”

2nd Place:  Guy Olivier-Deveau & Isabelle Gasse (Quebec); Sculpture Entitled: “Fish Eye”

3rd Place: Susanne Ruseler & Hanneke Supply (Netherlands) Sculpture Entitled: “Through Strength and Vulnerability”

Competitors Choice Awards: (Peer selection)

Soloist: Damon Langlois (Victoria, BC); Sculpture Entitled: ”T.G.I.F.”

Doubles: Fred Dobbs (Mayne Island, BC), Jakub Zimacek (Czech Republic); Sculpture Entitled:“Acrobats”

Sculptures will be on exhibit until Sunday, August 17 at Parksville Community Park. Gates are open from 9:30am-8:30pm daily. Entry by suggested donation of $5. Visitors may vote for their favorite sculpture resulting in the coveted People’s Choice awards announced at the end of the exhibition.

For the second year, the Society hosted an opening weekend concert at the Parksville Outdoor Theatre with sponsorship from Van Roc Interiors, featuring the Canadian Hall of Famers, Chilliwack. Well-loved Johnny Inappropriate from Nanaimo warmed-up the concert goers with their energetic renditions and then Chilliwack delivered their nostalgic hits such as “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)”, “Whatcha Gonna Do”, “Fly At Night”. The dance floor was packed with all ages while the four-man band captured the audiences’ hearts for their final hurrah. The crowd demanded encores and then dispersed leaving the beautiful park in excellent shape for more musical entertainment to follow each for the next five weekends.

For images and details on other Parksville Beach Festival events in the park, see parksvillebeachfest.ca

Cheryl Dill, President Beach Festival Society | Cell: 250.954.8262 |[email protected]