REVERE — After taking a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Sand Sculpting Festival returned to its home on Revere Beach Friday for its 17th year.
This year, however, the festival looks a little bit different, with artists working together on an exhibition instead of competing against each other.
“We were disappointed last year having to cancel, and it was a challenge this year as well,” said John Hamel, chair of the festival and member of the Revere Beach Partnership. “Rather than 200 tons of sand in a centerpiece and 15 sculptures, this year is an exhibition. We took that same amount of sand and put it in seven sculptures along the same stretch of the beach for social distancing.”
Hamel said that this year, instead of international artists taking part in the festival, all of the participants came from the United States and Canada. In addition, the festival has hand sanitizer stations throughout the beach, limited vendors and no live music.
“We all felt comfortable that being outdoors and social distancing and having precautions … we would be able to have it in a safe way,” Hamel said. “We didn’t want to skip another one. We’re already looking forward to next year.”
Each year, the festival has a theme for its sculptures, and this year is no different. To honor the 125th anniversary of Revere Beach, each of the seven sculptures represents a different piece of history of the nation’s first public beach. They begin with a sculpture marking the 1896 opening of the beach, and move through the 1906 opening of Wonderland Park, the history of the Cyclone Roller Coaster and Hippodrome rides and the MBTA Blue Line arriving in Revere in the 1970s. The final sculpture, which is of a huge banner with the beach’s name, represents Revere Beach’s future.
Artist Deb Barrett-Cutulle, of Saugus, worked on this final sculpture on Friday, carving words into the side of the structure. She said that she works as an illustrator and first learned to carve sand in a friend’s driveway. Barrett-Cutulle has participated in the festival every year since it began in 2004.
The artist added that she was happy the festival had returned this year.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “It feels great to come back not in competition. It gives us a chance to relax together and enjoy each other.”
The International Sand Sculpting Festival is expected to bring 1 million visitors to Revere Beach over the course of the weekend.
The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. A fireworks display will be held at 9 p.m. Saturday.
For more information about the festival, visit internationalsandsculptingfestival.com.
