SandFest returns to Port Aransas, drawing thousands, boosting the local economy by millions and sparking excitement for its 30th anniversary next year.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — SandFest returns to Port Aransas, bringing in tens of thousand of people and giving the local area an economic boost.
Prepping, creating, and teamwork. Organizers said that is what SandFest is all about.
And it’s drawing more people every year. President of SandFest Tim Parker said attendance keeps growing and with it – a boost to local economy.
“It’s definitely a huge impact to Port Aransas as well as the surrounding areas Corpus, Aransas Pass, stuff like that. So it brings a lot of money into the area,” Parker said.
We’re talking millions of dollars. Among those checking out the sights, the Remington-Trigg family, who stood out from the crowd.
“Yeah, it started as a joke. We were at a music festival last month and there were some people walking around with these outfits on, and I said, hey, you guys ought to get those for Sand Fest, and he’s like, “I’ll wear it.” And then he’s like, but no, everybody. Has to do it,” she said.
Lisa Remington said SandFest is a tradition they look forward to ever year.
Steve Trigg said he’s been coming to the event for years and is amazed at how much it’s grown.
“This thing grew from nothing. It started years ago with these sculptors that would come down and do these sculptures, and now it’s gotten so big that they’ve got people from all over the world doing these sand sculptures, and they’ve got some music acts. It’s really great,” he said.
And he said the economic boost from visitors attending the event also helps local businesses.
“I think it’s a big thing. It’s a good thing for all the vendors and all the people that have shops in town. It helps their bottom end big time so they can come out here and people see what they have,” he said.
But next year will be bigger and better. Parker said they’re already planning the 30th anniversary of SandFest.
For those that missed out on all the fun Saturday, SandFest will continue on Sunday.
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