CoffeeHouse Chess: frankston

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Frankston Sand Sculpting Festival 2014

It is Australia Day and Caroline and I took a trip to Frankston to see the annual Sand Sculpting Festival. It was quite appropriate to see this waterside festival on Australia Day, the celebration of the creation of Australia as a nation. Surprisingly, it wasn't as busy as I was expecting, especially as it only cost $12.50 per adult. Anyway, it made things better, as photography wasn't impaired by hordes of tourists.

The theme of the festival this year was StoryLand, and the sculptures represented well known children's characters. There were timeless classics such as Beatrix Potter and C. S. Lewis, to modern classics such as J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter, which was, not surprisingly, a very popular attraction. The detail was fantastic, and the depictions were unbelievably realistic, or at least true to the literary and film characterisations. Like last year, this festival is a precursor for the Australian Sand Sculpting in Surfer's Paradise on Queensland's Gold Coast. Besides the fact that it was a beautiful sunny day, in the mid 20's C, and with barely a cloud in the sky, there isn't really much to add without photographic evidence. So here's some pictures to marvel at and enjoy. The festival goes on until 27th April, and it really is worth the trip down the peninsula.

Are we sitting comfy, then I shall begin

Jumanji...dare you roll the dice?

A tower of Mr Men and Little Misses

Discovering Dragons

Dumbledore from Harry Potter

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit

Charlotte's Web

An Angry Bird!

Was that a good story?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Sand Sculpting in Frankston

It was a beautiful day in Melbourne, reaching the mid 20C's and with barely a cloud in the sky. So rather than sit inside all day watching more Aussies getting knocked out of the tennis, I decided to go for a drive. I headed down the bay to Frankston to see the Sand Sculpting Festival. To be honest, it's pretty nice place to just walk along the Waterfront area of Frankston, and I walked up the pier and along the beach a bit.

Oliver's Hill Frankston

Although I've been living in Melbourne for nearly 8 years, this is the first time I've visited the Sand Sculpting festival which has been held in Frankston for the past 5 years. The theme of the sculptures was "Under the Sea" and it attracted sculptors from across the World.

Logo Sculpture by Kevin Crawford

There were 15 sculptures ranging from cute to futuristic. The detail was absolutely crazy and the inspiration for the sculptures ranged from famous novels (20000 Leagues Under the Sea) and Gods (Poseidon) to Beatlemania (Octopus Garden) and video games (Battlefish). My personal favourite was an inctircately carved Seaport Village.

Seaport Village by Jino van Bruinessen and Peter Redmond

Detail from Seaport Village

Of course, the quality of all the sculptures was unbelievably high. With the Australian Sand Sculpting Championships taking place in Surfers Paradise in February (the 15th for anyone who wants a Valentines Day treat for a loved one...a trip to Queensland!) I guess it was a good warm up event. I'll leave you with some favourite images of mine from the day, while I'll upload more (74 photos!) to my picasa album. Undoubtedly the best name used by the sculptors was Baldrick Buckle! I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Frankston to check this festival out. It is great, and walks along the front are a bonus, and it runs up to 28th April so you got plenty of time! Unfortunately I will be out of town for the Mordialloc Gnome Festival, but maybe in years to come!