Sand in the City

Sand sculpture in Pioneer Square was the activity we chose today. We were able to get outdoors and enjoy the weather while it was still in the 70s.

Sand in the City will continue through the weekend, and it’s free with donations welcome, so it’s a good place for families to stop. They had a pile of sand just for kids to play in — GOOD IDEA! The tykes who hadn’t found the sand pile yet were beside themselves wanting to dig a hole in Bartman’s head, ride the dragon, or climb Mt. Wall-E.

Vendors, live music, and the ubiqutous panhandlers filled the plaza. It will only get more packed as the day goes on, so I’m glad we went early. The sand sculptures reminded me of going to see the sculptures at Moonstone Beach in Trinidad, CA. Not as much fun in a bricked courtyard, but without a beach downtown, the sand sculptures are that much more impressive.

The theme was fun and family friendly, with animated characters including Sponge Bob (he’s 10 years old this week! Everybody wish Mr. Squarepants another successful ten!), Manny the moody mammoth, Bart Simpson, even Max in his “wild thing” outfit, riding the shoulders of a sand Wild Thing. There were Hungry Hungry Hippos, that little Banker from Monopoly, Smurfs and Shel Silverstein. 

Yeah basically, a whole bunch of stuff to get kids excited. Or… thirty-somethings who love kid stuff like us. We even spotted Carl Frederickson’s house, perched on top of a mountain peak with a bunch of balloons tied to it.

…and the kid-friendly theme makes sense because all the proceeds were going to support the Kids on the Block.