"Wonders of the World" featured as the theme for the 2023 competition, attracting sand sculptors from around the world. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

over 100,000 people

More music & more fun as Parksville Beach Fest celebrates banner 2023 season

Aug 23, 2023 | 5:21 AM

PARKSVILLE — While some external factors may have prevented some from making the trip, Beach Festival organizers are still raving about another very successful summer.

A grand total of 108,349 people walked through the gates set up around sand-made masterpieces at Parksville Community Park throughout the five-and-a-half-week festival, taking in the work done by Canadian and international sculptors to the theme of “Wonders of the World”.

Beach Festival society president Cheryl Dill told NanaimoNewsNOW organizers are on a pause for the next few weeks and will regroup in September to talk about what went right and what they want to change moving forward.

“We’re going to take the next couple of weeks here just to gather our energy back, take a breather, it’s been a really, really busy season. We had a few humps to overcome with the weather, some of the environmental issues that probably impacted a little bit of the attendance.”

Different interpretations of the theme were offered by each sculptor. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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This year’s crowd fell short of the record set in 2016 when over 133,000 people visited.

Severely limited access along Hwy. 4 at Cameron Lake, other wildfires on Vancouver Island as well as the overarching situation in B.C. also likely contributed.

“We’d love to get back up there, at the same time it’s a lot of pressure on communities to have a lot of additional visitors in, whether that’s parking or accommodations. With restaurants struggling with staffing and hotels, there’s a lot at play…a lot of issues that impact the tourism and hospitality industry.”

Regardless, festival organizers said they were met with overwhelmingly positive feedback about not only the competition but an increase in musical performances at the new Parksville Outdoor Theatre.

More musical performances were featured including both free and ticketed events.

The festival was closed out over the weekend by the Vancouver Island Symphony on Sunday, Aug. 20.

“We’re extremely happy with how those events played out and we only want to grow that. We feel the positive feedback from the community indicates that they want more.”

Plays, dance troops and cultural performances from First Nations are all on the ideas list.

(Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Part of the conversations beginning in September will be the annual gift from the festival to the non-profit community groups who help out.

Since 1999, the society has allocated roughly 25 per cent of gate receipts to community initiatives, including the construction of the outdoor theatre.

Around $1 million has been donated to date.

In addition to the direct impacts, a 2015 study suggested the festival generates around $18 million in economic impact for the Oceanside region each year.

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