Sandcastle contest sculpting community in Grand Beach

Eighteen teams participated in this year’s event, creating extravagant sand sculptures inspired by the Olympics, animals and even family and friends.

An annual Grand Beach, Man., tradition got underway this weekend, with families coming from near and far to take part in the town’s sandcastle building contest.

Eighteen teams participated in this year’s event, creating extravagant sand sculptures inspired by the Olympics, animals and even family and friends.

“It’s always a very social and uplifting, positive experience for everybody,” said Cindy Ceaser, who volunteers as one of the contest organizers.

Ceaser got involved with the event after her husband, Paul, passed away in 2015. Paul was a Winnipeg firefighter who struggled with mental health issues for several years before taking his own life.

“The first couple years were a little more difficult after Paul's passing, but as time has gone on, it's such a positive and fun event,” Ceaser said.

The competition has been running on and off since the 1980s. In the last decade, organizers started a fundraiser to go alongside the event, collecting donations for student bursaries at William Whyte School.