Karen Jean Fralich has been sculpting sand for nearly 30 years. She has competed in more than 150 master's level sand sculpture competitions. 

By Ian Holmes

stunning creations

Awards handed out at highly anticipated Parksville sand sculpting competition

Jul 17, 2023 | 7:11 AM

PARKSVILLE — Creations by some of the world’s top sand sculpting artists are on display on Parksville’s waterfront.

On the evening of Sunday, July 16 Parksville Beach Festival Society president Cheryl Dill announced winners in three categories in front of hundreds of onlookers at the Community Park.

After the competition started on Friday, carvers had 24 hours for their visions to come to life, resulting in a first place finish in the solo division for Karen Jean Fralich of Ontario for her entry ‘Great Barrier Reef.

The competitor’s choice solo division winner was Thomas Koet of the United States who produced ‘ The Two Wonders of the World.’

Thomas Koet posing with his entry ‘The Two Wonders of the World’.

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Koet, of Dutch descent and now living in Florida, profiled social media influencers in the form of a self-absorbed couple taking selfies.

“He’s posing in front of a Japanese castle that you actually don’t really see because it’s behind him. And he’s got some Chinese tattoo that looks awesome, but it actually says ‘vegetable.’ It’s like, what’s the deal with these people, right?

The woman’s necklace pendant has ‘Me’ engraved on it.

Thomas Koet had this concept mapped out prior to the competition starting. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Koet, who came in second place in the primary competition, said it’s an honour to be singled by his peers in a field of 14 other high quality entries.

While his piece pokes fun at how self-absorbed some people are, Koet was quick to point out that self-serving social media posts can pay the bills.

“Some people make that their living and their awesome influencers, this sculpture is about them.”

First place in the doubles category was won by Fred Dobbs and Ted Siebert from the United States with ‘Wonderland.’

With additional sand to work with and an extra set of hands, taller and often more detailed submissions are made in the doubles category. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW

The competitor’s choice doubles winners were Edith van de Wetering and Wilfred Stijger of the Netherlands with their piece ‘Dream.’

More than $50,000 in cash prizes were handed out during the awards ceremony.

This year’s sculpture theme is ‘Wonders of the World’, leading to multiple entries questioning the impacts technology is having on humanity.

Bruce Waugh, a Canadian competitor, enlisted the help of artificial intelligence robots to help save our planet (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The sand sculptures will be open for public viewing daily between 9:30 a.m.and 8:30 p.m. until Sunday, Aug. 20.

The people’s choice award will be issued after the Parksville Beach Festival concludes, comprising of the favoured sculpture by attendees.

Admission is by a suggested donation of $5 per person, with proceeds supporting non-profit volunteer ambassador groups who help make the five-and-a-half week Parksville Beach Festival a reality.

Well over 100,000 people are expected to be counted going through the gated enclosure located near the waterfront walkway.

Head judge Charlie Beaulieu has put in his time as a competitor, including a majority of the events staged in Parksville since the event launched in 1982.

He said a key aspect to judging is identifying which sculptures have the ‘wow’ factor.

“If it amazes you, how it makes you feel. Does it have action? Even though it’s a stagnant piece of sculpture does it look like it’s moving or could it be moving. Artistic merit, the quality of the sculpture,” Beaulieu said.

He said the Parksville event has come a long from its humble beginnings, pointing to how organized, well attended and increasingly talented the artists are.

Beaulieu, who had a seven year consecutive win streak in the team division in Parksville, said the land-based event was held on the beach in the event’s early years.

“We would hike all our stuff down to the beach and fight the tide, shovel it all up. Six hours later the tide’s coming in. It was kind of magical because we would watch the tide take it away.”

Beaulieu said the first and second place finishers in the solo and doubles divisions at the Parksville Sand Sculpting Competition are invited to the next World Championship of Sand Sculpture Competition, to be held at a yet to be determined future date.

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