The 2023 Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition wrapped up Sunday (July 16) with 22 impressive and creative creations.
Karen Jean Fralich, who hails from Ontario, won first place in the singles event, while Victoria鈥檚 Fred Dobbs and American Ted Siebert took home the doubles award.
The theme of this year鈥檚 event was 鈥榃onders of the World鈥�, with Fralich opting to pay homage to a natural wonder: the Great Barrier Reef.
鈥淵ou can see it from space, it鈥檚 so big,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just went crazy with cool details that I love about coral reefs, and I put my face in the middle of it all.鈥�
Fralich is a judge on a CBC television show called Race Against the Tide and has won 30 first-place titles at international sand sculpting contests, as well as five World Championship titles.
Dobbs and Siebert won for their piece, 鈥榃onderland鈥�, inspired by the fact that both carvers previously completed Alice in Wonderland projects.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about Alice in Wonderland, it鈥檚 just about Wonderland and the idea that one of the wonders of the world is actually imagination 鈥� fantasy,鈥� said Dobbs.
Dobbs and Siebert have competed together at contests in Australia, South Korea, Romania and Saudi Arabia.
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Rounding out the singles awards were Thomas Koet in second place with 鈥楾he Two Wonders of the World鈥�, Abe Waterman, third place with 鈥楾hemeless Parksville鈥�, Peter Vogelaar in fourth place with 鈥楢ge of Wonder鈥� and in fifth place Damon Langlois for 鈥楽eed鈥�.
In doubles, Seveline Beauregard and Joris Kivits took second place for 鈥楲ove without Borders鈥� and Sue McGrew and Dmitry Klimenko won third place for 鈥楾he King鈥�.
Koet also took home the competitors鈥� choice award for solo and Edith van de Wetering and Wilfred Stijger were awarded competitors鈥� choice for doubles with 鈥楧reams鈥�.
The competition drew sculptors from as far away as the Netherlands, the U.S., Germany, Poland, Mexico, Russia and Germany.
The 29 master sculptors worked for 30 hours over three days on their masterpieces, which will be available for public viewing from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily until Aug. 20.
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