{"id":548107,"date":"2026-07-13T21:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/548107\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T21:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:32:10","slug":"long-running-b-c-sand-sculpture-competition-damaged-by-vandals-daily-hive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/548107\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-running B.C. sand sculpture competition damaged by vandals | Daily Hive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of B.C.\u2019s most beloved summer events was targeted by vandals over the weekend, and organizers are asking for the public\u2019s help in tracking down those responsible for damaging its massive sand sculptures.<\/p>\n<p>The 44th annual Parksville Beach Festival is taking place until Aug. 16, with a summer concert series, artisan market, and plenty of family-friendly activities.<\/p>\n<p>Beachfest is highlighted by the Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition, with sculptors from around the world carving huge masterpieces out of sand and water.<\/p>\n<p>However, Parksville Beach Festival Society (PBFS) posted over the weekend that it was \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d to learn that several sculptures were damaged by vandalism.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"sand sculptures\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2293053\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sand-sculptures-768x1024.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2293053\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Parksville Beach Festival<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur talented sculptors are now spending valuable time repairing their works so they can be enjoyed throughout the Exhibition\u2019s five-week run,\u201d posted the society on social media on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is especially disheartening considering the incredible dedication of the artists, volunteers and staff who have worked tirelessly to bring this beloved Parksville tradition to life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The international competition began with the \u201cpound up\u201d on Thursday, July 9, where the 30 sculptors prepared to transform 255 cubic yards of sand into the giant artworks.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"sand sculptures\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2293054\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sand-sculptures-1-1024x1024.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2293054\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Parksville Beach Festival<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Organizers shared that four sculptures were damaged by someone who had entered the secured competition site overnight on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">PBFS added that it had security on site and is working with them to review the situation.<\/p>\n<p>A reward is also being offered for info that leads to the identification of those responsible for the damage to the sand sculptures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are incredibly saddened that the hard work of our sculptors, volunteers and staff was affected in this way,\u201d said Cheryl Dill, president of PBFS, in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis festival is built on community spirit. The best way to support our artists, volunteers and everyone who makes this festival possible is to visit the Exhibition, celebrate these incredible works of art and show our sculptors that their hard work is valued and appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"sand sculptures\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2293056\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sand-sculptures-2-1024x1024.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2293056\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Parksville Beach Festival<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Davgir3iR0y\/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Winners<\/a> of the Quality Foods Sand Sculpting Competition were announced on Monday, though the Doubles Competition was not officially judged due to the vandalism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFollowing discussions with Master Judge Peter Vogelaar, all doubles teams collectively agreed that the prize money would be shared equally among the competitors in recognition of their outstanding work and sportsmanship,\u201d stated PBFS.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who witnessed suspicious activity at the Parksville Beach &amp; Community Park, or has information about this incident, is asked to contact the society at info@parksvillebeachfest.ca or 250-951-2678, or contact local authorities.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of B.C.\u2019s most beloved summer events was targeted by vandals over the weekend, and organizers are asking&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-548107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}