PORT ANGELES — A waterfront celebration of the arts begins today when sand sculptures and art and vendor booths open at 2 p.m. for the three-day Port Angeles Nor’wester Rotary Arts in Action Festival.

Festival hours will be from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. today, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Hollywood Beach and City Pier in Port Angeles at Railroad Avenue and Lincoln Street.

Eight world-class sand sculptors will compete in the ninth annual Windermere Sand Sculpture Classic, creating designs for this year’s theme, “Wonderful World of Sports.”

Admission to the sand sculpture gallery will be $2 for adults and free for children younger than 12.

Chance to vote

The juried contest also will offer visitors the opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice award by placing quarters in the boxes by their favorites.

Two noncompeting sculptors have created display sculptures for the festival.

Charlie Beaulieu of Kingston, one of the top 10 sand sculptors in the world, created a tribute to Olympic National Park and the Elwha dams removal project, which begins in September.

The sculpture is at Windemere Real Estate, 711 E. Front St.

Dan Belcher of St. Louis, who won first place for the past two years, will create a sculpture as the artist in residence.

It can be seen at the Port Angeles CrabHouse Restaurant, adjacent to Hollywood Beach.

Earlier this week, 12 truckloads of glacial sand were brought to the beach from local storage and Silverdale.

Chain gang crews from the Clallam County jail assisted in moving the sand from the parking area to the beach.

Artists put the sand in forms and began compacting the sand to create man-made sandstone Wednesday, said Doc Reiss, co-chairman of the Arts in Action committee.

Began work Thursday

Sculptors began carving their creations early Thursday morning.

By the time the event opens today, the sculptures should be about a third complete.

“Most of the time, you don’t get to see the art created,” Reiss said.

“It’s quite a spectator sport.”

There are only about 100 professional, world-class sand sculptors in the world, he said.

This year’s competitors include Carl Jara of Cleveland, Ohio; Vern Cooley of Seattle; Sue McGrew of Tacoma; Damon Farmer of Versailles, Ky.; Sandis Kondrats of Latvia; David Billings of British Columbia; and Karen Fralich of Toronto, Canada.

Judging for the sculptures will take place at 5 p.m. Saturday, followed by an invitation-only awards dinner at 6 p.m.

The sculptures are very heavy, weighing as much as 17 tons. The fine, wet, compacted sand weighs 1,700 pounds or more per square yard, Reiss said.

Artists and onlookers must be cautious of sculptures that have holes or overhangs.

“If someone was under it, we could have a fatality from the weight alone,” he said.

Juried craft fair

Forty-nine local, regional and national artisans will offer their products at a juried arts and crafts fair.

A juried fair means the vendors have been reviewed for being the actual producer of their merchandise and the quality of their product before they are accepted, said Kurt Anderson, past president of Nor’wester Rotary.

“We have some really special artisans coming in,” Anderson said.

Vendors will offer custom, hand-painted wooden signs, hand-crafted jewelry, fabric art, walking sticks, wooden dishes, copper work, leather products and many other choices.

Commercial vendor booths also are planned.

Choices for everyone

Two car shows are planned on City Pier.

On Saturday, the festival will feature the Peninsula Dream Machines, a local car club

More than 30 classic and modern Porches will be on display Sunday.

Treats from many local restaurants will be served.

Indian cuisine, seafood, barbecue, Chinese food, burgers, hot dogs and Pacific Northwestern foods will all be available from vendors or at restaurants surrounding the festival.

Fair favorites such as funnel cakes, kettle corn, sno-cones and cotton candy will be found at vendor and food court locations.

On Saturday, the Port Angeles Farmers Market will be held in The Gateway pavilion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Music

A wide variety of musical talent will entertain at the music stage in the City Pier parking lot in front of the festival vendors.

Performance artists Doug Parent and Jeff Tocher will do live performance paintings inspired by the bands at the festival Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

All are invited to take part in a street dance later that day from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.