ARVADA, Colo. — The 5th annual ‘Sand in the City’ festival and competition is underway in Arvada right now and will continue through the weekend.
In terms of the competition, eight teams sparred off by using more than a hundred tons of sand to create unique sculptures.
“We actually bring in the sand from Fort Lupton,” explained Kami Welch, President of the Arvada Chamber. “[It’s that] sand that’s easy to build with”.
The teams started constructing their sculptures Friday morning. They were only supposed to build from 10am to 4pm, but Mother Nature derailed that plan. Rain made its way into Arvada half-way through the day and toppled a few of the sand sculptures over.
The teams with damaged sculptures repaired them, which allowed judges to finally pick the winners (two hours after the winners were initially supposed to be announced).
The winners are:
1st place: Arvada Young Professionals
2nd place: Family Tree
3rd place: Red Rocks Community College
Rookie of the year: Jefferson Center for Mental Health
Masters choice: Red Rocks Community College
While the sand sculpture competition took place on Friday, the festival itself continues throughout the weekend. More than 15,000 people are expected to attend.
The festival features food, live entertainment, games and plenty of other family friendly things. ‘Sand in the City’ wraps up Sunday.
If you’re interested in attending the festival, detailed information is below.
WHEN: Saturday, June 25 from 10am-8pm and Sunday, June 26 from 10am-5pm
WHERE: Ralston Park at W 64th Avenue and Simms Street in Arvada
COST: $5 entry per adult, children 12 and under are FREE