Harrisand.org

Today's FamilyFirst pick is about an annual contest that you may or may not have heard of. It's held each year in Vancouver, British Columbia in a place known as Harrison Hot Springs. The location has another moniker: The Sand Sculpture Capital of the World.

I used to turn buckets full of damp sand upside-down to make castles on our occasional visits to the beach when I was a kid. Well, this goes well beyond that.

The Harrison Hot Springs contest, well-regarded as the ultimate championship for sand sculptures, has a unique format. 100 man-hours are allowed per sculpture. That means that 2-person teams can compete with 10- person teams simply by giving them the same 100 person-hours. No tide is also the reason for the month-long exhibition.

Secondly, unlike ocean beaches where the sand is rolled back and forth on each tide, HHS sand is angular, with a high silt content which increases its bindability and has led to three, progressively-higher Guinness' World Records for the World's Highest Sandcastle to be set there.

The sculptures themselves are like nothing you have ever seen before. Check out the gallery. I predict you will be stunned by what is accomplished in a short 100 man-hours.

Hey, you might even think about making your way up- north this next September to see this year's contest for yourself.

http://harrisand.org/

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