2025 Sandsations: Team Mai Tai ‘Pinball Wizard’ wins top prize

Published 4:15 pm Wednesday, July 23, 2025

LONG BEACH — It starts with simple ingredients — just sand and water — but once mixed with the ingenuity and imagination of a handful of artists, the results can be complex and compelling.

Four days of sandy fun culminated in the team sculpture master competition on Saturday, July 19, at the 2025 annual Sandsations event in Long Beach, where team Mai Tai took home first place and the cash prize with their ‘Pinball Wizard’ sand sculpture, followed by runner-up team Form Finders, with their sprawling bigfoot-inspired beach scene.

The festival kicked off Wednesday, July 16, with the buildup and start of construction of sand sculptures along Bolstad Avenue.

Meanwhile, daily ‘Sand Academy’ sculpting lessons prompted aspiring sand artists to create their own castles each day, with competitions and contests among kids, family and ‘master’ categories.

Preview sculptures were placed around Long Beach leading up to the event, including at North Beach Tavern, Port of Ilwaco and Snow Peak Campfield.

Music from Perfectly Imperfect and The Rogue Trio serenaded attendees along Bolstad Avenue before crowds gathered around the pavilion along with dozens of sand sculpture competition participants where pirate-impersonator Jack Sparrow presented the awards.

2025 Sandsations award winners:
Masters
First place: Team Mai Tai
Second place: Team Form Finders
Youth contest
Future Architect Award: Miles Paul
Judges Choice: Centerstage SeaStars
Team Spirit: Oceanside Builders
Sand Academy Instructor Award: Oceanside Creatures
Team contest
First place: Sand Boxers
Second place: Sand Sculptures