DUNCANNON VILLAGE will be the place to be this weekend as it plays host to its annual Sand Sculpting Festival.
The event will be held from Friday, August 10, until Sunday, August 12. A significant addition to the festival schedule this year will be the inaugural All-Ireland Sand-sculpting Competition.
The opening night of the weekend is always an exciting mix of music and craic on the beach and this year up-and-coming Wexford rockers, Kobi, will be bringing their up-tempo brand of rock ‘n’ roll to Duncannon beach. The gig will coincide with a giant beach party which will culminate in a giant fireworks display.
The festivities will continue on Saturday morning from 10 a.m. when the professional sand sculpting exhibition will be unveiled on the beach. Professional sculptors from ‘Duathain Dealbh’ [‘fleeting sculpture’] are going to create a village of sea-creatures for this year’s theme.
A wide range of family events on beautiful Duncannon beach will take place throughout Saturday including a Cul Camp, traditional puppet shows, music from the Barrack Street Marching Band and Campile Pipe Band, WaterZorbing, a Tug o’ War competition and outdoor wrestling displays.
On Sunday the air will be filled with a competitive spirit as the very first All-Ireland Sand-sculpting Competition will be officially launched. Prospective competitors will be encouraged to register for the competition at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning and the competition itself will begin at 2 p.m.
Commenting on the event Cathy Dowling, from the organising committee, outlined details of the competition: “All competitors will have two hours to create their sand-sculpting masterpiece. Each competing team of up to 8 members will be allocated a plot and all entries will be judged by a panel with the winners being announced at the end of the festival on Sunday evening.”
The winners will receive a trophy for their efforts.
“We’re very much looking forward to hosting the competition and we are expecting a big number plus plenty of fantastic sculptures,” said Ms. Dowling.
“Maybe by the next Olympics it might even be an Olympic sport,” she added.
On Sunday afternoon the ‘Mad Cap’s’ street theatre group will entertain the masses with an outdoor comedy show on the beach. The festival will come to a close with ‘The Bugle Babes’ a trio belting out classics from the legendary swing era of music in the 1940s.
For more details on the festival and the All-Ireland Sand-sculpting competition log onto www.visitwexford.ie
