FEDERAL WAY — After planning the annual Windermere Sand Sculpture Classic in May, Doc Reiss of Port Angeles turned his sights to planning this year’s world championships.
For the first time, the championship will take place in Federal Way, beginning this week.
Previously, the event was held in Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., but the classic faced closure because no one could run it this year.
Reiss, Charlie Beaulieu of Kingston and Suzanne Altamare of Daytona Beach, Fla., stepped up to the plate to run this year’s world championship — to which the Windermere classic is a qualifying round.
The event this year will include eight doubles teams, five teams of about five each and 27 soloists, Reiss said.
“We’ll have about 40 sculptures in the competition and at least three display,” Reiss said.
“We have 930 yards of sand, which we had to bring in a semi with a trailer for the forms.
“Up here, we’ll have 1,800 forms — it’s just a little bit of work.”
The event will kick off at 31510 20th Ave S, Federal Way, with the “pound up” Wednesday, when the sand will be pounded and readied for the competition.
Then the doubles competition will commence.
The soloist and team competitions will run Sept. 15-18, with the awards presented on Sept. 19.
Altamare became involved because her husband, Marc, who died of cancer eight years ago, was a sculptor. When she heard the competition was on the brink of death, she began calling around to find someone to help.
“When Marc and I were at the world championships in 1991, he had done a sculpture of Jesus and the fishermen, and it didn’t win, but the people in Harrison demanded that it get a prize — and that is how the people’s choice award was begun,” Altamare said.
The prize is now named after Marc Altamare.
There is no “best day” to attend the competition, Reiss said, but by viewing the website www.worldchampionshipofsandsculpting.com people may choose what suits them best, he said.
A season pass to enter any day as often as you like is $30. A single adult pass is $8.50 per person, and seniors 65 and older and children 5 to 16 are $6.50 each.
Children 4 and younger enter free.
The gallery will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The Windermere classic was held in July at Port Angeles City Pier.
Reiss estimated that 5,000 came through the sand sculpture gallery.
The classic was part of the annual Arts in Action, organized by the Nor’wester Rotary Club of Port Angeles and attended by about 20,000.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.