Sun & Sea Festival

--Professional Sand
Sculptors to Vie for $17,000 in Cash Prizes—



The sun will be shining brightly this summer in Imperial Beach on Saturday,
July 19, when the local business community and the Port of San Diego bring a
professional sandcastle competition back to Imperial Beach at the Sun & Sea
Festival.



Being dubbed, “The Original Imperial Beach Sandcastle Competition,” the Sun
& Sea Festival will feature world-class, award-winning sandcastle builders
fashioning some of the best sand creations on the West Coast in a fast-paced,
five-hour build.  The Sun & Sea Festival will also include a community
parade, pancake breakfast, live music, children’s activities, the annual Kids
‘n Kastles competition, a Farmers Market and International Food Fair.



A pancake breakfast at St. James Lutheran Church, 866 Imperial Beach Blvd.,
will kick off Saturday’s activities from 7 to 9 a.m. Attendees will get to
enjoy freshly made pancakes served up by Imperial Beach community members and
elected officials.



A parade featuring local youth groups and civic organizations marching to show
their Imperial Beach pride will proceed down Seacoast Drive at 9 a.m. 
Best viewing spots are at Portwood Pier Plaza, 10 Evergreen Ave.



Attendees will have the opportunity to sample a variety of foods at the
Certified Farmers Market and International Food Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at
Portwood Pier Plaza and along Seacoast Drive.  In addition, many of the
restaurants in Imperial Beach will offer special menus and discounts for the
day. The event will also feature a stage with musical entertainment and
children’s activities throughout the day.



Local children will get to show their sand-sculpting skills during the Kids n’
Kastles competition, where kids ages 5 to 12 will team together to build
sandcastles.   At 5 p.m., the day’s events will conclude with an
awards ceremony at Pier Plaza.



The Sun & Sea Festival derives its name from Imperial Beach’s original
public festival of the same name that was held beginning in 1960 to celebrate
the date of the city’s incorporation. This annual community celebration
featured a sand-sculpting competition. Imperial Beach also was the site of the
U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition from 1980 to 2011. When that annual tradition
ended, the Port initiated a beach-front family-oriented event for the Imperial
Beach community. The Port produced IB Kids Fest at Pier Plaza in June 2012 and
then reignited the tradition of the original Imperial Beach celebration with a
new Sun & Sea Festival, which featured the children’s Kids ‘N Kastles
competition last summer.  



For more information about the Sun & Sea Festival in Imperial Beach, visit
sunandseafestival.com.