If it’s true that art is in the eye of the beholder, so then it must also go for the definition of the artist. Take, for example, sand sculpting. Far from the sand castles each of us has molded with plastic buckets and shovels once upon a beach, a higher form of sand sculpting has evolved into beautiful and widely admired artistic expressions — much like museum artists were once inspired by their crayons, or pencils, or chalk as children. The fact is, those in the know will tell you that there may exist only 50 or so master sand sculptors in the United States today. And while their art is by its nature and medium only temporary, this November will mark 30 years that the American Sand Sculpting Championship will be held on Fort Myers Beach, attracting close to 50,000 fans across 10 fantastic, fun- filled days November 18-27. While history isn’t clear on who started the Championship in 1986, there’s no doubt it’s become the top competition in the United States — and a darling of local, regional and national media, including CNN Travel, USA Today , network morning shows (like The Today Show last year) and more. The event is a joint venture of the Sand Lovers (a husband and wife event management team who also happen to be master sculptors), the Greater Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, Pincher’s Crab Shacks and the Wyndham Garden Fort Myers Beach hotel. Bill Knight and his wife Marianne are the owners of Sand Lovers — and he’s been involved either as a master sculptor participant or manager the past 15 years. “Our goal is to bring the best sand sculptors around the world here,” he explains. “The competition’s by invitation only, and
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