CAPITOLA — On a cloudy and foggy Saturday afternoon, groups of visitors from Santa Cruz County and the Bay Area gathered at Capitola Beach and Esplanade Park to witness the various teams taking part in the Capitola Beach Festival’s yearly Sand Sculpture Competition. The focus of this year’s event is “Vacation Snapshots.”
We have approximately 35 sand sculptures on the beach, and they’re beginning to take form,” said festival co-organizer and Lighted Nautical Parade announcer Laurie Hill. “Next to them is our cornhole event, which is a bit disorganized right now, but I always believe that by offering opportunities on the beach, people show up to enjoy themselves.
Matt Ritzman from Sandcastles for Josie crafted the traditional Capitola postcard design during the Capitola Beach Festival’s Sand Sculpture Contest. The event’s theme was “Vacation Snapshots.” (Aric Sleeper – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
The Capitola Beach Festival, organized annually by a dedicated team of volunteers, is considered the spiritual continuation of the Capitola Begonia Festival, which began in the 1950s. The original Begonia Festival originated from the Capitola Water Fantasy Carnival, established in 1950 by Peggy Slatter Matthews, Capitola’s first female Councilmember. The festival and carnival included boat parades decorated with begonias, swimming events, and a water ballet. Once the water carnival concluded in 1954, the Begonia Festival remained as a Labor Day weekend event in Capitola until its last occurrence in 2017 — marking its 65th anniversary.
The Capitola Beach Festival, marking its seventh anniversary, maintains several customs from the Begonia Festival, including the illuminated Nautical Parade along Soquel Creek, which takes place on Saturday evenings. The multi-day beach event features a range of family-oriented activities, such as the Little Wharf 3-Miler Fun Run on Saturday morning, which attracted approximately 3,000 runners, and extends into the afternoon with games like cornhole on the beach, a scavenger hunt, a children’s art area, and the yearly Sand Sculpture Competition.
Hector Cristobal from East Palo Alto, a handyman, took part in the Sand Sculpture Contest for the second consecutive year. He brought all his professional tools to Capitola Beach and created an octopus out of sand.
The theme is ‘Vacation Snapshots,’ so I want people to be able to take a photo with it,” said Cristobal. “It’s an octopus, and there will be a hole in the center of the tentacles so that a young child can go inside and have their picture taken.
Hector Cristobal from East Palo Alto took part in his second Capitola Beach Festival Sand Sculpture Contest on Saturday. (Aric Sleeper – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Further along the beach from Cristobal was Matt Ritzman from Oakland, who was crafting the traditional Capitola postcard design in the sand to match the festival’s theme. Ritzman’s daughter, Josie, has a neurodegenerative condition involving iron accumulation in the brain, known as NBIA disorder, and he promotes awareness of the condition by constructing sand castles through the initiative “Sandcastles for Josie.”
With this year’s theme of ‘Vacation Snapshots,’ I thought of postcards with a small sandcastle in front of them,” said Ritzman. “I need the surface to be flat and even, and it’s really challenging to get sand to be consistent. So, I’m using various tools to keep it level, and this rain is actually beneficial because it’s keeping the sand moist.
Sticking to the theme, John Betts from San Jose and his group were constructing a miniature version of Area 51, which they claimed was among the most popular travel destinations for aliens. The team members donned tinfoil hats while shaping a spaceship and monolith, similar to the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
We chose to create an obelisk, and there’s a flying saucer and a wormhole there,” said Betts. “We were simply experimenting with the concept of a ridiculous getaway.
Every year, the large Golino family comes together in Capitola from various parts of the Bay Area to take part in the numerous events at the Capitola Beach Festival. For the Sand Sculpture Competition, the group chose to create a huge crab and a camera in the sand, named “Snappin’ Selfies.”
We enjoy creating large sea creatures and aimed to include a camera, as many people take selfies here on the beach, and the snapping action because he’s a crab,” said Martin Bond, who came up with the design. “It’s deep.
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Andrea Robicheau and Liv Johnson display their favorite tools for sand sculpting during the Capitola Beach Festival on Saturday. (Aric Sleeper – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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For their “Vacation Snapshot”-themed sand artwork, John Betts and his companions selected Area 51 as the subject for the Capitola Beach Festival on Saturday. (Aric Sleeper – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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The yearly Capitola Beach Festival offers a variety of events, including the Cornhole on the Beach contest. (Aric Sleeper – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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Andrea Robicheau and Liv Johnson display their preferred tools for sand sculpting at the Capitola Beach Festival on Saturday. (Aric Sleeper – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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Cousins Andrea Robicheau from Mountain View and Liv Johnson from Santa Cruz were almost finished creating a sailboat sculpture in the sand called “Come Sail Away.” This pair was taking part in the Sand Sculpture Contest for the first time, despite having wanted to do so for many years.
My father passed away four months ago, so I’m now doing the things I’ve always wanted to do,” said Robicheau. “I’ve always had a desire to participate in a sand sculpture competition, so I made it happen and brought my cousin with me.
The shoreline was filled with spectators watching as roughly 35 teams constructed temporary sand art installations, including Sarah Levy from Los Altos, who has participated in the Capitola Beach Festival for nearly six consecutive years.
The squid and the octopus are truly amazing, and the banana slugs along with the children creating the turtle there,” said Levy. “I just think Capitola Beach is a very welcoming and friendly place, and living in the Los Altos area, it’s not too far away. And I see this as a celebration of the end of summer.
The event runs on Sunday starting at 7 a.m. with a fishing competition at the Capitola Wharf, a stand-up paddleboard race, chalk art on the seawall, and rowboat races at 1 p.m., along with various other beach-related activities.
For information, visit capitolabeachfestival.com.
IF YOU GO
What: Capitola Beach Festival.
Time: From 7:00 AM until 3:00 PM, on Sunday.
Location: Capitola Beach, Esplanade Park.
Cost: Free.
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