Sandsations 2026: Sand artists drift into Long Beach for sculpting festival
Published 5:42 pm Sunday, July 12, 2026
LONG BEACH PENINSULA — What came first, the pumpkin carver or the wood carver?
Eugene-based teacher and artist Tom Lindskog, 56, will tell you a lot of carving artists, such as himself, started with pumpkins before eventually transitioning to ice, wood and sand. Or in Lindskog’s case, they simply do all four.
Lindskog will be among the array of talented artists creating sand sculptures around the peninsula this week in preparation for the upcoming Sandsations Sand Sculpture Festival, July 15-19 at the Bolstad beach approach in Long Beach.
Lindskog’s sand sculptures will be spread around the peninsula, including at the Chautauqua Lodge and North Beach Tavern and at the Port of Ilwaco, near where the annual crab pot Christmas tree is constructed.
Pumpkin carving to sand sculpting
Lindskog took a traditional route to sand sculpting, he said, first starting with pumpkin carving — as many often do — before eventually transitioning to wood carving, now in his third year.
“There’s a lot of cross pollination,” Linkskog said regarding the carving fields. “A lot do ice, but now I do it all.”
A woodshop teacher by trade, Linkskog admits that his carving doesn’t pay the bills, but provides a fun, creative outlet along the way.