Local art professors, as well as area artists of regional or national stature, typically judge the American Sand Sculpting Championship. “Because this is such a unique art form or medium, we’ll train the judges about what can or can’t be done with sand and what they should look for,” Knight says. “But it comes down to the wow factor.” Of course, not every day is guaranteed to be a beautiful and sunny one — but as Knight explains, that’s not such a bad thing. “The best days are cloudy, with a little mist because the artwork is held together by water. Sunny days with wind, that’ll dry your work out. And it’s funny, you’d think hard rains would wash everything away, but it doesn’t — the art acts like a sponge, you get a few pock marks you can smooth over, and you’re back to work.”
Myers Beach that numbers millions of dollars. “It’s going to be a busy 10 days,” Bud Nocera says. “For everyone’s convenience, we recommend coming in from the south and parking at Lover’s Key State Park, where shuttle service will be provided to and from the event.” Six years ago, Bill and Marianne Knight walked away from corporate careers to become full time sculptors and sand sculpting event managers — with other competitions around the country in addition to Fort Myers Beach — and they haven’t looked back. “Any art form judging is very subjective,” he says. “But few art events are so much fun.”
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www.TheSandLovers.com www.FMBSandSculpting.com www.PinchersUSA.com www.Wyndham.com
With close to 50,000 fans in attendance, one thing is guaranteed: a positive economic impact for Fort
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