Now in its 29th year, the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition, a Southern California favorite annual event is scheduled for the weekend of July 18 and 19.
The event features a two-day street festival along Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach, live entertainment and a sandcastle building competition for children, amateurs and professional teams. The Kids-N-Kastles Competition is held on Saturday while on Sunday the official U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition will be held. This is the championship of sandcastle building where the professional sand carvers vie for the title of Master's Champion. Professional and amateur sand carving teams throughout the U.S. will compete in the sandcastle building competition with more than $21,000 in cash prizes.
The competition originally began in 1980 as a local event organized by a group of Imperial Beach community members. Over the years, the competition has grown to become a national tourist attraction, bringing more than 325,000 spectators to the small surf town over two days.
Imperial Beach’s sandcastle building competition is the largest in the country and attracts sand carving teams from across the United States.
