PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Melineige Beauregard, of Montreal, Canada, won First Place in the Solo category for her work “Go With The Flow”.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
REVERE — Dan Belcher’s decade-long experience as a Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival competitor finally paid off.
On Saturday, he was awarded the top prize for his efforts.
Belcher, 48, of St. Louis, and his partner, Marianne van den Broek, of Key West, Fla., received first place for the duo competition for their sculpture, “Body Art.”
The piece, which also won them the Sculptor’s Choice ribbon, features five human bodies built to resemble a frog. Two sculpted people are face down and crouched on the ground to represent the legs.
“It was a wonderful surprise, of course,” Belcher said. “We first learned of the sculptor’s choice award, which was a big honor. It was a nice surprise to win first as well.”
Belcher, a professional sand sculptor, said the artists were given about 20 tons of sand to create the work. Belcher carved for three and a half days and 30 hours. He and his partner were inspired by a body painting piece they had seen, he added.
The $300,000 festival was organized by the nonprofit Revere Beach Partnership, with help from the city of Revere, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and private sponsors, since 2003. It wrapped up on Sunday, as spectators observed 15 castles constructed with 500 tons of sand.
The centerpiece sculpture, a collaborative effort of the 20 competing artists, showcased the invention of the wheel, locomotion, the launch of the shuttle and the smartphone. Smoke was emitted every 25 minutes from the train’s stack and bottom of the shuttle, with tweets displaying on the flat screen TV, which was used as a giant cell phone, according to Rosette Cataldo, president of the Revere Beach Partnership.
The artists were from 10 countries and the sand came from a New Hampshire quarry. The sand is formed in a wooden frame with water and the wood is removed to allow the artists to carve. Competitors did not have to follow a particular theme for their sculptures. But the 30-foot centerpiece sandcastle followed the topic of science, technology and innovation.
Cataldo said the mission of the partnership is to preserve Revere Beach, now 120-years-old, as a nearby retreat for local families.
“This festival is a way to bring people to America’s first beach,” she said.
Abe Waterman and Morgan Rudluff, of Prince Edward Island and Santa Cruz, Calif., placed second in the duo competition was respectively, for their piece “Le Numero Deux.” Local competitor, Deborah Barrett-Cutulle, of Saugus, and her partner, Steve Topazio, of Tiverton, R.I., took home the people’s choice award for their sculpture, “The Color’s in the Mind.”
In the singles competition, Melineige Beauregard, of Canada, won first place and the sculptor’s choice award for “Go with the Flow.” Leonardo Ugolini, of Italy, won second place, along with the people’s choice award. Taking third place was Guy Olivier-Deveau, of Canada, for his sculpture, “Carcass.”
Robyn Pelletier, 61, of Lynnfield, said she loves all of the work.
“We come every year for this,” she said.
Kristin Healy, 34, of Quincy, said she found out about the event online, and took her three young sons, Ryan, 3, Kellan, 4, and Seamus, 7.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “I wanted to take my kids because they’re really into making sandcastles.”
Michael Chase, 45, of Quincy, said he was enjoying his first time at the festival.
“It’s awesome,” he said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.