‘They’re Just Here to Have Fun.’

Results from the 58th Annual Alameda Sand Castle and Sculpture Contest

On Saturday morning, June 20, Robert Crown Memorial State Beach was busy with nearly 500 individuals working with buckets, hoes, and shovels. As ’80s tunes like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” blasted on a loudspeaker, members within the 58th Annual Sand Castle & Sand Sculpture Contest formed mounds of sand into ephemeral creations.

There have been 85 entries this yr, divided into Castle and Sculpture classes, and judged in teams of 12 & Under, 13 & Over, and Family. With the low tide exposing a big swath of moist sand, members constructed their buildings in assigned plots alongside the seaside. The contest is a collaborative occasion between the East Bay Regional Park District (ERPD), Bayview Women’s Club, and Alameda Recreation and Park Department (ARPD).

Alameda resident Terry Gaige headed up a crew together with his son Asher and pals from San Francisco. They arrived at 8:30 a.m. to register, and began constructing when the competition formally started at 9 a.m. The dragon they created gained first place within the sculpture class.

“The black sand is accessible because it’s low tide and that seems to be making some cool scales,” stated Gaige. According to Susan Ramos, a naturalist with East Bay Regional Park District who hosted a desk on the occasion, the black sand is from deeper layers “that do not have oxygen.” Like Gaige, many members integrated the contrasting darkish and lightweight sand into their artwork.

As the morning received underway, extra members and onlookers arrived on the seaside. Just a few informal artists confirmed up as late as 11 a.m., simply as registration closed. By then, youngsters have been steadily working forwards and backwards between the castles and the bay, hauling water and moist sand whereas others of their group dug moats. Some severe sculptors got here outfitted with spray bottles and industrial fashion sprayers ordinarily used for pest management in an effort to maintain their sand damp.

Dylan Higgins-Kiang, a camp counselor on the Alameda Young Naturalist Club (AYNC), entered the sculpture contest with two different staffers from the membership. They have been engaged on an anglerfish for his or her entry. “We go to the beach pretty regularly for our job and this anglerfish was actually an inspiration from one of our campers,” Higgins-Kiang stated.

Patrick Russi, Recreation Manager at ARPD, informed the Alameda Post that he has been concerned with placing on the competition for over 30 years. When requested what the tallest citadel has ever been, Russi explains first that builders can’t use outdoors helps for the buildings. “It is quite a delicate decision because the higher you go, the more wet you’ve got to keep the sand to keep it intact… I would say the tallest ones I’ve seen are probably 4 to 5 feet.”

Judges for this yr’s occasion included Vice Mayor Michele Pryor and Alameda Fire Department Chief Nick Luby, in addition to Public Art Commission Chairperson and Post contributor Liz Rush. Russi defined that the judges have been suggested by members of the Bayview Women’s Club, a few of whom had organized and registered individuals for the occasion for over 50 years and have been acquainted with the nuances of sand citadel and sculpture judging.

First place within the 12 & Under Sand Castle Category was awarded to Cub Scout Pack 1015 from Alameda. Midway by the sculpting, Kat Smith, the grownup who was overseeing the Cub Scouts, informed the Post, “Right now, it is a volcano with an evil layer of castle and maybe a good guy castle as well… but it might change in 20 minutes. Who knows?… I think they’re just here to have fun.”

Russi reminded the Post that the competition is actually a one-day occasion. When requested how lengthy the sand creations could be on show he responded, “Well, this week, 6 o’clock is high tide.” At that point, everybody’s evil castles and dragons could be swept again into the bay.

2026 Sand Castle and Sand Sculpture Contest Award Winners

• Entries: 45 sand citadel plots, 40 sand sculpture plots.
• Participants: 492 complete individuals.

Best of Show Winners

Sand Castle Best of Show Winners

Team: Taylor Family
City: Dublin
Title: Large Castle with Moat

Sand Sculpture Best of Show Winners

Team: Gaige & Hammonds
City: Alameda
Title: Trash to Treasure

Sand Castle Ribbon Winners

12 & Under Category

• 1st Place: Cub Scout Pack #1015, Alameda, Castle with Volcano & Moat
• 2nd Place: Sea Shells, Alameda, Castle with Darks and Shells
• third Place: Unicorn Siblings, Alameda, Castle with Added Decorations

13 & Over Category

• 1st Place: Patrick Liddell, Oakland, Dragon Castle
• 2nd Place: Buddha, Alameda, Cairn (Stone Stacking)
• third Place: Small Size Big Minds, Alameda, Castle with Feathers & Driftwoods

Family Category

• 1st Place: Taylor Family, Alameda, Large Castle with Moat
• 2nd Place: The Military Brats, Travis Air Force Base, Castle with Sticks
• third Place: The Stantons, Alameda, Castle with Walls & Bridge

Sand Sculpture Ribbon Winners

12 & Under Category

• 1st Place: Amelia, Newark, Serpent
• 2nd Place: Luna, Charlie, Rae, and Linda, Alameda, Sun Bather
• third Place: Mark, Alameda, Hot Dog and Pizza

13 & Over Category

• 1st Place: Gaige & Hammonds, Alameda, Trash & Treasure
• 2nd Place: Murph by the Surf, Alameda, Timber Born
• third Place: J J Fan Club, Alameda, Minions

Family Category

• 1st Place: Kai Family & Friends, Alameda, Seal you Later!
• 2nd Place: Julie and Chloe, Lafayette, Wallace Dog
• third Place: Minh and Dat Mi, Foster City, Platypus

Jean Chen is a contributing author for the Alameda Post. Contact her by way of [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen. Jenn Heflin is a contract portrait and enterprise photographer in Alameda. To view her work, go to her BlueSky account.All images ©2026 Jenn Heflin.