Despite the weather, thousands of people ventured down to the golden sands of Morecambe beach at the weekend to visit the resort’s fifth Sandcastle Festival.
The event, which was organised by Lancaster City Council, took place over the weekend and provided visitors with a free weekend of seaside fun and Morecambe was packed with people enjoying the free entertainment on offer.
Europe’s leading professional sand artists, ‘Sand in your eye!’, created an array of expertly crafted sculptures and children’s entertainment from Poulton Children’s Centre put the smile on hundreds of tiny faces, as did the popular donkey rides and fun and games on the beach.
Adding a musical twist to this weekend of vintage seaside fun, this year’s festival also incorporated the Morecambe Town Council funded Key Loco Salsa and Latino event on the arena. There was also music from Morecambe Brass Band as well as an art exhibition by local artist Chas Jacobs.
Staff at Morecambe’s award winning Visitor Information Centre were kept busy during the weekend and dealt with more than 763 people calling into the centre.
But the highlight of the weekend was the Sunday as more than 32 teams battled it out to be crowned the king, queen, prince and princess of this year’s Sandcastle Competition.
“It was a wonderful weekend and it was great to see Morecambe so busy with people despite the weather,” enthused Councillor Ron Sands, Cabinet member with responsibility for tourism. “Morecambe has made great strides over the last decade to reinvent itself and this festival showcased everything that is good about the town.”
The judges of the Sandcastle Competition had a hard task on their hands as they struggled to decide between the entries and who would win first prize of £75 in cash and a commemorative bucket and spade to mark their efforts.
The Sand Rockers with ‘The Sand Rock Band’ won the Family/under 12s, prize with runner-up The Happy Hippos with ‘Harry the Hippo’
In the Open category, Team Duffy won with with ‘Larry the Sand Lobster’, with The House Martins with ‘Fish out of Water’ runners up
• Many of the entries are available to view at www.lancaster.gov.uk/sandcastle
• The Sandcastle Festival is just one of the great events taking place this summer in the Lancaster district. For more information on forthcoming events visit www.lancaster.gov.uk/whatson
• Morecambe Sandcastle Festival and Key Loco was part of Morecambe’s Top 20 season of festivals. View www.morecambelive.com for sponsorship details.