News

Sand sculpting contest draws families to the beach

By Lauren Kelleher
Correspondent
Published: July 5, 2009

SALISBURY — Lorraine Thomas, a 30-year Salisbury resident, has seen a lot of tourism come and go in her hometown. But when her granddaughter and family won first place in yesterday's sand sculpting competition, she said the revitalization efforts for the city's downtown are beginning to show.

Mermaids, pyramids and starfish all sprouted from the concrete sidewalk from what, only two hours earlier, had been 10 piles of sand. Fitzysnowman Sculpting of Saugus headlined the event with a 12-ton master sculpture created by company founder and owner Sean Fitzpatrick.

The carving of the 9-foot, two-sided creation, which drew a steady stream of curious beach-goers and their cameras, excited Thomas.

"I haven't seen this many people down here in years," Thomas said of the entire Fourth of July weekend of events. "It's good to have people coming in and have businesses flourishing."

Her 7-year-old granddaughter Gwenith, who was visiting from Georgia, knelt beside Thomas and patted the finishing touches on a starfish to complement the competition-winning mermaid she helped her family sculpt.

"I did the turtle too," she said, pointing toward the other side of the mermaid's tail.

Her uncle, Eddie Shields, pulled the antique bottle opener that inspired the design out of a bag, holding it up next to the identically svelte figure they had raised from the sand.

Shields, who has only lived in Salisbury a couple of years, recognizes the importance of events to attract more families to the beach.

"The place used to be a hopping place," he said, gesturing at the arcade storefronts and fried dough awnings behind him. "Everyone used to come here, years ago and then they took away all the fun stuff to do and a bunch of bars moved in and now there's nothing really to come here for anymore."

David Fowler of Plaistow, N.H., whose two children, Matt, 14, and Sarah, 11, created a model of a castle from "The Lord of the Rings" movies, said the family frequents the Salisbury Beach Reservation but wouldn't have considered the downtown area to be family-friendly before.

"Usually I don't think of this as a place to bring the kids. I mean, I know they have the arcade and everything, but it's sort of rundown. But (the sand sculpting contest) is definitely something that was family oriented — it's something you want to bring your kids to."

This past weekend and all the events that will take place every weekend through Labor Day, including a visit from the Tall Ships, is a collaborative effort between the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce and the newly established Beachfront Partnership, said Chamber of Commerce chairman Chuck Takesian.

He wants more parents like Fowler participating in Salisbury Beach events, which in turn helps bolster business for local merchants. The Beachfront partnership is made up of local business owners, larger businesses (like banks) that do business in Salisbury and Salisbury residents, Takesian said.

Takesian said he was "thrilled" to hand the first prize $25 Hungry Traveler gift certificate to the Thomases for winning the competition, as he was Saturday night when he estimated about 5,000 people showed up for the fireworks display.

Takesian, in his seventh year as chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and his 30th year as a Salisbury resident, said tourism has dwindled significantly in the past few years.

"I saw it go down and I am seeing it come back," he said.

Fitzpatrick said the idea of Salisbury in transition inspired the design of his sculpture, which portrayed the "duality" between Salisbury's past and present.

"I thought that this would best represent where Salisbury has been and where it is going," Fitzpatrick said. "The back of the sculpture is a giant sailboat like a schooner and that kind of represents where Salisbury is going — the sails are full and the future is bright for Salisbury, and the carousel (on the other side) is kind of its nostalgic past."

This was Fitzpatrick's second year making an appearance at Salisbury Beach. This year the Chamber of Commerce and the Beach Partnership were able to raise even more money for the event, adding an extra day and the amateur competition, said Donna Abdulla, a representative of the Beach Partnership.

"We had a sand castle last year, but this year we thought we'd incorporate another idea, which is the amateur competition (which attracted about 50 people), and it worked and they had so much fun," Abdulla said. "I was impressed," she added. "I can't even make a bucket."

Fitzpatrick said events like his will make the difference town leaders like Takesian and residents like Thomas want to see for their downtown.

"I think they have been very successful as far as changing the image of downtown Salisbury and Salisbury Beach area," he said. "It's a process. It's something that takes time, but as we continue to grow these events and add new events, people will come back."