Top sculptors turn Fort Myers Beach into fantasy in the sand

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With all the elaborate, awe-inducing sand sculptures competing in this weekend’s festival, one question begs to be asked.

What wins?

 

“They like sculptures with dragons, high ones, that take a lot of artwork,” says Georgia Reinmuth, coordinator of the 22nd annual American Sandsculpting Championship Festival on Fort Myers Beach.

“People like to see the fantasy stuff,” she continues.

The judges come from architectural firms, the Lee County Commission and tourism bureaus.

This year, 29 top sculptors from across the nation, Canada and Italy will flock to the beach to make art on their plots of sand. Amateurs make up the rest.

The sand artists fall in three categories: master sculptors, semiprofessional Florida state sculptors and amateurs.

At least 60,000 people are expected to ogle the art behind the Outrigger Beach Resort and the Holiday Inn on Estero Boulevard.

For those not creating, a few tips could help.

Although admission is free and unrestricted, getting there could be a problem with all that traffic on the two-lane boulevard.

So event organizers laid out parking and shuttling options to help ease the jams.

People driving from the southern Bonita Springs and Naples areas can take Bonita Beach Road west, then Hickory Boulevard north, and park at Lovers Key State Park, 8700 Estero Blvd., or the north field on the bay side before Little San Carlos Pass.

It’s free to park, and four 32-passenger buses will shuttle people to festival.

Those coming from the northern Cape Coral and Fort Myers areas can park at Summerlin Square Plaza, 11418 Summerlin Square Drive. It’s at Summerlin Road and San Carlos Boulevard. A trolley will pick people up at regular intervals.

For both, people will be dropped off at two spots: Holiday Inn on the south end and Charley’s Boat House on the north end.

Food, drink and craft vendors will be in the middle of those sculpture areas.

The best days and times to attend depends on what you want to see, Reinmuth says.

People can check the schedule to see if they want to watch the sculptors work or the final judging and awards. The five-day festival is progressive.

 

Source:  http://www.news-press.com/article/20081105/GCLIVE07/811050352/1013/LIFESTYLES