REVERE BEACH NATIONAL SAND SCULPTING FESTIVAL BOSTON STRONG THEMED CENTERPIECE TRIBUTE SCULPTURE
July 15, 2013
Festival expects to bring 500,000 visitors to the country's oldest public beach
The Revere Beach Partnership revealed the theme of the 10th Annual National Sand Sculpting Festival at Revere Beach which takes place Friday, July 19th to Sunday, July 21st, 2013. This annual tradition is estimated to attract over 500,000 from all over the country to see master sand-sculptors from all over the world compete for thousands in prizes.
This year the festival welcomes a record 25 sculptors that will grace Revere Beach with 15 individual competition sculptures and a very large “Boston Strong” centerpiece sculpture, a tribute to the victims and public safety personnel that exemplified the true nature of New Englanders this past Patriots Day.
John Hamel, President of the all-volunteer Board of Directors of the Revere Beach Partnership which organizes the event stated, “After the tragic events at this year’s Boston Marathon, it became obvious to us that we needed to change the theme of this year’s event. We are honored to create this tribute to the victims of that day and to the thousands of public safety personnel that sprang into action.”
“This year’s event will be the largest and best to date and we look forward to welcoming the families of New England to Revere Beach”, Hamel went on to say. In celebration of the event’s 10th year anniversary, many enhancements have been made including increasing to a larger field of competing master sculptors working with over 350 tons of sand, tripling the footprint of the festival, rolling in a gourmet food truck festival with over 25 of Boston’s best, doubling Saturday night’s fireworks extravaganza with a second barge of pyrotechnics, adding a new fitness stage, expanding the children’s learning center, creating a metal detector treasure hunt, and completely revamping the live entertainment program.
The event is made possible thanks to both large sponsors and smaller contributors which together allow the non-profit organization to keep all activities free and open to the public. The festival is co-hosted with the City of Revere and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
Mayor Daniel Rizzo of Revere commented, “Revere is truly one of the east coast’s hidden gems and we are so very proud of our pristine three mile crescent shaped beach. Revere Beach is America’s first public beach, a National Historic Landmark, and it remains as vibrant as ever as it continues to welcome families from throughout New England.”
Recently appointed Commissioner of the DCR, Jack Murray commented, “We are pleased to be a part of this wonderful festival. As stewards of Revere Beach, all of us at the DCR are so pleased to see the people of the Commonwealth enjoy this natural resource. This event at historic Revere Beach exemplifies so well the value of our mission to improve the vital connection between the people and the environment.”
The festival schedule is 10AM to 10PM Friday, July 19th to Sunday, July 21st. The fireworks extravaganza will be held on Saturday night at 9PM. Attendees are encouraged to take the MBTA Blue Line to either Revere Beach or Wonderland train stations. In addition to several beach parking lots and the new Wonderland MBTA garage which are available throughout the festival, there will also be a Saturday-only parking and shuttle bus service available at Suffolk Downs for more convenient and timely access to the event. A detailed schedule of events and entertainment can be found on the event website at http://www.nationalsandsculptingfestival.com.
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Contact: Amanda Gourgue
Telephone: (781) 902-9742
Email: agourgue@reverebeachpartnership.com