Community Corner

IMAGE GALLERY: Sand Sculpting Day 1

The heat hasn't slowed the master sculptors, many of whom already have fine details in their pieces.

Aided by a that gave competitors more time to pack sand for their creations, many of the artists in the 2012 Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Competition got off to a strong start on the first day of the competition Thursday.

From sculpted skulls to detailed faces and pillars, many of the sculptors made great progress on their work without many effects of the mid-90-degree heat baking Ocean Boulevard.

That came to no surprise to Greg Grady Sr., the organizer of the annual competition, as he said all of the sculptors are "seasoned" and can handle the heat.

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In fact, he said he expects the heat to actually aid the sculptors, as he said the artists typically get a boost thanks to high spectator turnouts. Grady said he expects this year's attendance will be higher than past years thanks to the fact that more people will flock to the beach in an attempt to escape this week's heatwave.

"It blows me away every year how many people come down," said Grady, whose son is one of the competitors. "The nice weather is a little bonus. Even if there's bad weather, it's still a good time."

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The above images were captured Thursday afternoon by Martha Lardent, who was kind enough to share them with Hampton-North Hampton Patch.

Sculptors will continue building their masterpieces on Friday and Saturday before the public is able to cast votes for the People's Choice award between 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday and the judges announce their winner at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Patch will have continuing coverage of all the festivities, which are detailed .


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