Sandcastle Contest
The 59th Annual Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest will be held Saturday, June 10, 2023
The Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest began in 1964 when a tsunami washed out the Elk Creek Bridge, and residents were relatively isolated until a new bridge could be built. That spring, local families gathered for a Sandcastle Contest to entertain their children and attract visitors. That Sandcastle Contest became one of the largest sandcastle contests on the west coast.
Divisions of the contest include Sand Fleas, Juniors, Teens, Small Group, Large Group, and Masters. Contest rules are simple, and no themes are mandated. This often results in a creative and sometimes colorful commentary on current events. Each team is given a plot of sand within a designated viewing area, and sand may not be added or removed. Only natural materials found on the beach, such as sticks, shells, rocks, and seaweed, may be used for ornamentation. No artificial coloring, paint, flour, sugar, starch, adhesives, or cement may be added.
In 2014, the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest was recognized as an Oregon Heritage Tradition by the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department, making it one of just 26 events statewide to achieve such a designation. An Oregon Heritage Tradition is an event with broad public appeal, with at least 50 years of continuous operation, contributing to the state's identity.
2023 times and registration can be found at the link below. Master’s Division is by invitation only. Please get in touch with Jim by email at jim@cannonbeach.org or call 503-436-2623.
Weekend events include a bonfire with music & smores, the sandcastle contest, and our Singing Sands 5K Fun Run/Walk.
Supporters and collectors can buy 2023 limited edition posters and other merchandise online and in person at our Information Center.
Download the Experience Cannon Beach app at the App Store or the Google Play Store today!
CONTEST REGISTRATION
FUN RUN REGISTRATION
VOLUNTEER SIGN UP
2023 Contest art by Miska Salemann
Artists Bio: Miska Salemann
Miska was born Emily Salemann, a child of immigrants with German, Russian and Serbian heritage. She is a self-taught painter, studying works of the great modern masters daily. Miska's journey as a painter began in St. Thomas, USVI as a basic need to provide artwork for a vacation home on the island. Hence, the birth of her business model: combining her love for art and real-estate to create extraordinary art-filled homes.
In August 2000, Miska was chosen by U.S. ART magazine as one of 25 prominent artists featured, and called her "an emerging success." Her paintings are colorful and expressive. Her figures are very endearing. The blend of Roman Catholic and Russian Greek Orthodox religious upbringing has manifested itself in her highly successful series of modern abstract Madonna Icons. When told that her paintings are very Picasso-like, she replies that her images are "happier" and her figures more recognizable.
Miska often incorporates iridescent colors in her works that give them an amazing reflective quality. Her work is also rich in symbolism. Umbrellas, which are very common in her work, are symbols of the shelter that the love of friends and family provide in life. The circles found on the faces and chests of her figures are symbols of the blush of romance and the security of love. Her paintings often reflect a Northwest palette and a love for coffee and wine.
In 2017 Miska purchased her first home in Cannon Beach, where she retains a studio apartment. Miska splits her time between the Oregon coast and her Art Farm in Fall City, WA, where the roosters in the henhouse inspired her popular series of rooster paintings.
On Christmas Eve 2020 Miska purchased the Columbia Bank Building, across from Pelican Brewing and the Hallmark Resort, a mixed use commercial space with two spectacular apartments above. Miska is now the Artist in Residence at her Cannon Beach Studio and Gallery.
2023 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY JUNE 9TH
10 AM-5 PM | Contestant Packet n’ Pail Pickup
at the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce
SUN JUNE 11TH
9 AM | Singing Sands 5K Fun Run/Walk
Registration is at 8:00 AM on the beach at 2nd St.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Cannon Beach Bakery | Bruce’s Candy Kitchen
Cannon Beach Design Co. | McEwan Construction | Jeffrey Hull Gallery
Umpqua Bank | Fresh Foods Cannon Beach | Pelican Brewing | Mo’s Chowder
Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters | Aquafina | Mariner Market
