Magdalen Islands sandcastle competition facts for kids
The Magdalen Islands sandcastle competition is a super fun yearly event! It happens at Sandy Hook beach on L'Île-du-Havre-Aubert in the Magdalen Islands. Many people say it's the biggest sand-building contest in the whole world. It's a great chance for families and friends to get creative together.
History of the Sandcastle Fun
The very first competition happened on August 15, 1987. More than 1,000 people came to see it! Three people named Nicole Grégoire, Albert Cummings, and Claude Bourque started it. They wanted to create a free event for families in the Magdalen Islands. The first year, they had 21 teams with 400 people building sandcastles. Their first budget was about $17,000.
Just two years later, in 1989, over 10,000 visitors came to the competition! That same year, the founders asked a group called the Corporation Châteaux de Sable des Iles to keep the event going. Since then, the competition takes place on the last weekend of the Acadian Festival.
In 2020, things were a bit different because of COVID-19. Instead of meeting at the beach, people built sandcastles from home in a special online competition!
How the Competition Works
The sandcastle competition usually happens on the second weekend of August. It runs from Friday to Saturday. On Friday afternoon, a sandcastle expert gives a workshop. They share cool tips on how to build a really good sandcastle. Teams then use the rest of Friday to shape the big pile of sand for their castle or sculpture.
Saturday is the main building day! Teams work hard to sculpt their amazing creations. The awards ceremony happens around 4:30 PM on Saturday.
There are three main groups, or categories, for people to enter:
- Family: This is for families to work together.
- Adult: This is for grown-ups who want to show off their skills. Their sandcastles must be at least 1 meter (about 3 feet) tall!
- Freestyle: In this group, you don't have to build a castle. You can create any cool sand sculpture you can imagine!
The public gets to choose who wins the main awards. There's also a special prize for the team that has the best "animation." This could mean they have fun music or wear awesome costumes! Finally, many sponsors give out participation awards to thank everyone for joining in.
