The 29th Annual
U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition

Welcome!

We Need Volunteers!

If you're interested in helping us put on the event, please send an email to volunteers@usopensandcastle.com for more info.

We Need Judges!

If you're interested in helping decide which castles are the best of the best, please send an email to judges@usopensandcastle.com for more info.

Saturday July 18th, 2009

In Imperial Beach, California, on Saturday, July 18th, the street festival begins. Over 140 vendors set up for the weekend activities. Continued with entertainment, food, arts and crafts, and lots of fun. Visitors stroll up and down Seacoast Drive, closed to traffic for the event, taking in the sights, sounds, and other sensory experiences of everything the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition has to offer. The musical entertainment, selected from a wide variety of family friendly local acts, draws a huge crowd every year. The Kids-N-Kastles Competition is held on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday July 19th, 2009

On Sunday July 19th, 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. Trained representatives for the US Open Sandcastle Competition will judge all categories. The weekend festivities conclude when the teams are presented with titles and cash prizes presented at the Awards ceremony.

Sandcastle building begins at 9:00am and concludes at 2:00pm. Sculptures are only available for viewing until 4:00pm due to the tides.