Tag: sand sculptures

A castle appears, Batman arrives, and more!

Look at this! Even more cool stuff is appearing in downtown San Diego on the Sunday before 2022 Comic-Con!

A castle has materialized, Batman has arrived (in two places that I saw), and a couple of Comic-Con offsite activations have begun construction. I spied something awesome going past on a forklift and a mysterious something you might help me identify!

Workers getting everything ready have three more days. And the big Petco Park Interactive Zone is still a parking lot full of cars. Better get busy!

Some signs for the Comic-Con Shuttle Bus Stops are out on sidewalks already.

A unique Batmobile has arrived! I saw this cool vehicle by the Hard Rock Hotel. I was told it belongs to a perennial Batman cosplayer!

The NBCU Corner by the Tin Fish is just beginning to set up. I was told the inside of the Tin Fish restaurant will be modified for Comic-Con.

Padres fans chill out at Gaslamp trolley station as Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty pass by.

The very cool Severance wrap on the Hard Rock Hotel seems to be finished.

The Krapopolis wrap on the Omni is nearly done.

The Shrek dragon Elizabeth is romping across the Starbucks window at the Hilton Bayside.

Okay, guys. I told you I’d include your photo. Having too much fun by a creepy forest, which has been installed at the FX activation near the Hilton.

A gloomy gray, creepy look at the American Horror Stories wrap in progress. It was overcast in the mid-afternoon.

Woohoo! Crates full of Bandai props have arrived behind the Marriott near the marina. Dragon Ball is coming!

Multiple crates indicate Statue of Great Ape Vegeta. Must be huge. Maybe it’s mislabeled, and it’s actually Grape Ape…

Look what I spotted on multiple forklifts passing by on the bayfront walkway. It looks like some Comic-Con swag bags will feature a Jim Lee design. (Possibly more than one!)

Marriott Welcomes Comic-Con 2022.

Look at what’s being attached to the Manchester Grand Hyatt’s parking garage! Batman on a big banner!

Batman, Robin and Batgirl are coming this Fall to Cartoonito on HBO Max.

Workers are still getting the Super Slide ready at the FOX Krapopolis offsite. Kids across the street at The New Childrens Museum were gazing at the slide dreamily.

The Gray Man offsite for Comic-Con is coming along rapidly.

I suppose we’ll be walking through there.

They were testing the big video screen.

The Audible sand sculptures are materializing slowly. They’re really cool.

A creepy sand skull!

On the Hilton Gaslamp we’re informed that Beavis and Butt-Head are the heroes that we deserve. Thanks a lot.

Woah! The House of the Dragon offsite will be a big castle! What lurks inside? A dragon? It must have very large and tough claws.

Star Trek’s 10 Forward is now located at 100 North Forward Avenue, by the Happy Does smiley.

Do those doors slide open with a quick swoosh?

A prop on the sidewalk outside the Star Trek: Picard offsite activation, now being built. Does this futuristic contraption mix matter and antimatter? Or strong drinks?

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Three sand sculptures rising outside Comic-Con!

Check this out! Three big sand sculptures are being built right now in downtown San Diego for 2022 Comic-Con!

An area by Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade, just east of 1st Avenue, near the Convention Center trolley station, will be the site of the The Audible Beach, promoting Audible’s original new shows.

I was told by one artist compacting sand in one of those wooden frames that the sculptures will include Sherlock Holmes, from the Audible show Moriarty: The Devil’s Game!

I’ll definitely be photographing these sand sculptures over the next few days as they take shape!

UPDATE!

If you’d like to see how these sand sculptures turned out several days later (and they are AMAZING), click here!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

A big sandcastle, new mural, and angelic doors!

I’ve recently updated three old blog posts with new photographs!

Today I headed back down to Imperial Beach. I had to check out the gigantic sandcastle that was completed by the pier for the 2021 Sun and Sea Festival. See lots of incredible new photos in an update here!

I also swung by City Heights, to check out the long, amazing mural that’s slowly coming to life in Teralta Park. Click here to see those new photos!

Finally, a few weeks ago I took a walk through Sherman Heights, and directed my feet toward Our Lady of Angels. I wanted better, closer photographs of the church’s fantastic doors. See those here!

I’ve got many more colorful blog posts coming in the near future!

Stay tuned for tons of art in Escondido, interesting activity in Old Town, and more cool sights in North Park, Chula Vista, City Heights and downtown! Not to mention potential surprises!

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Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts.  If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!

To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

A gigantic sandcastle in Imperial Beach!

An absolutely gigantic sandcastle is now being built at the foot of the Imperial Beach Pier!

The huge two-stories high sand sculpture, which is being referred to as the Monument Castle, is the centerpiece of this year’s week-long Sun and Sea Festival. Imperial Beach has become Sandcastle City!

The I.B. Posse, a team of local sand artists, began to build the castle a couple days ago. The sand carving will continue through this week.

I intend to swing by again next weekend to check out the finished sandcastle! I’ll post those pics in an update here!

UPDATE!

I swung by the following weekend after the huge sandcastle was completed. I see the I.B. Posse was assisted by the Sand Squirrels, Dan Belcher, Bruce Phillips and Sculpting San Diego.

Wow! Check it out!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

A colorful Sunday walk on Imperial Beach Pier.

Today I headed down to Imperial Beach to check out a sandcastle that is under construction at the foot of the IB Pier. This summer’s week-long Imperial Beach Sun and Sea Festival features one gigantic sand sculpture. (I’ll share those photos shortly!)

Because I was at the pier, of course I had to walk out on it.

These colorful photographs were taken during my Sunday stroll over the ocean. I walked out to the pier’s end, gazed at the sky and water for a while, then headed back to the beach.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Hotel del Coronado’s Winter Wonderland!

A fun Winter Wonderland can be enjoyed freely during this holiday season outside the Hotel del Coronado!

A huge Christmas tree, a Santa’s sleigh, a Polar Express, and all sorts of fun decorations invite visitors to take photographs on the world-famous hotel’s beachfront Windsor Lawn.

From what I could see, groups of tourists love the Winter Wonderland just as much as families and kids.

It all must be quite amazing when lit up at night!

Before I entered the Winter Wonderland from the beach, I had to check out a cool sand sculpture created by the Sandcastle Man. I’ve seen many of his sculptures over the years. I asked how long he’s been building castles by the Hotel del Coronado. He said fourteen years!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Photos from past US Sand Sculpting Challenges!

The annual US Sand Sculpting Challenge was cancelled this year due the COVID-19 pandemic. The world-class event takes place each Labor Day weekend and draws huge crowds to San Diego’s Embarcadero.

Having gone to this mind-blowing international competition for the past six years, I’ve accumulated lots of cool photos! The world’s top sand masters can produce absolutely astonishing works of art!

To recall past wonders from this event, I’ve linked to blog posts containing hundreds of photographs. Before you check those out, however, in no particular order, here are some of the sand sculptures I’ve particularly enjoyed!

The following links provide six years of photographs from the US Sand Sculpting Challenge…

2014

Photos of world-class sand sculptors at work!

2015

Photos of amazing, incredible sand sculptures!

2016

The most amazing sand sculptures in the world!

2017

World’s top sand sculptors create fantastic art!

2018

Masterpieces by World Master sand sculptors!

2019

Amazing art at U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Amazing art at U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge!

If you’re in San Diego this Labor Day weekend, you need to go to the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge at downtown’s Broadway Pier. The annual event is just as incredible as ever, with amazing, eye-popping sand sculptures by some of the top sand artists in the world!

This morning I got my ticket right as the event opened, and I directed my feet straight into the Broadway Pier’s Port Pavilion, which is where the Sand Masters were working on their masterpieces. It seems every year the sculptures become more elaborate and beautiful.

I took some photos with my little camera to provide a taste of what you will see. In addition to these masterpieces, you’ll enjoy other sand sculptures by local San Diego teams, plus all sorts of three-dimensional artwork outside on the pier. Plus there’s live music, lots of food trucks, and a big sand box where you can make your own sandcastles!

The competition’s theme this year is Wonder. Here’s a glimpse of the amazing sculptures, with each piece’s title and artist.

On the Loose, by Chris Guinto.

If We Don’t Change, the World Will Soon Be Over, by Abram Waterman. (The sculpture depicts Stevie Wonder.)

The Force, by Jihoon Choi.

I Wonder About You, by Hanneke Supply.

Think and Wonder, Wonder and Grow, by Anique Kuizenga.

Wanderlust, by Dan Belcher.

The Other Side, by Brian Turnbough.

Just Wondering, by Martijn Rijerse.

Why, How, When? by Melineige Beauregard.

Full of Wonder, by Thomas Koet.

Wonder Woman, by John Gowdy.

With Love Through Life, by Pavel Mylnikov.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

World-class sand masters smile for fun photos!

Cool sand artists rest for a bit near the foot of Broadway Pier as they create a welcoming sculpture for the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge! A couple faces look familiar from past competitions!
Cool sand artists rest for a bit near the foot of Broadway Pier as they create a welcoming sculpture for the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge! A couple faces look familiar from past competitions!

Some of the world’s greatest sand artists smiled for my camera late this afternoon! They’re now carving sand sculptures on Broadway Pier that will greet people as they arrive for the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.

During Labor Day weekend, these extraordinary artists will be working hard inside the Port Pavilion, where the public can watch them create spectacular pieces of fine art out of compacted sand!

If you’re in San Diego, it’s the big Labor Day weekend event you shouldn’t miss!

On the other side of the welcoming sand sculpture, a design is being carved that celebrates the 250th anniversary of the city of San Diego!
On the other side of the welcoming sand sculpture, a design is being carved that celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the City of San Diego!

One of the outdoor sand sculptures near the Port Pavilion is sponsored by MTS. It's a work still in progress.
One of the outdoor sand sculptures near the Port Pavilion is sponsored by San Diego’s public transit system, MTS. It’s a work still in progress.

Sand master and TV star Chris Guinto smiles for my camera! I met him briefly five years ago during this annual competition. This sculpture he's working on promotes Natural Light Seltzer.
Sand master and TV star Chris Guinto smiles for my camera! I met him briefly five years ago during the annual competition. This sculpture he’s working on for an event sponsor will promote Natural Light Seltzer.

UPDATE!

Here are some photos taken the following day…

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Compacting sand for world-class sculptures!

This morning sand is being compacted in wooden forms on the Broadway Pier. That means Labor Day weekend can’t be very far away, along with the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge!

During this annual festival, fine art will be created by some of the world’s top sand sculptors inside the pier’s Port Pavilion. Meanwhile, I was told that the carving of several sponsored sand sculptures outdoors on the pier begins tomorrow!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter