PORT ANGELES — A pair of Grinches tried to steal Christmas at The Landing on Wednesday night, Port Angeles police said, but organizers of the Santa in Sand display promise to re-deck the mall.
The Christmas Village sand display was vandalized by two teenage girls sometime between 8:25 p.m. and 9 p.m., Port Angeles Police Officer Dwayne Benedict said.
The damage includes a broken Christmas tree top, a cracked tree trunk, a broken ornamental bow on a present, and footprints on the display’s sidewalk.
The vandals were caught on a video surveillance camera, he said.
“To come in there and vandalize a Christmas deal like that, I don’t know what goes through a kid’s head,” Benedict added.
Security guard Eric Mischke was off duty enjoying trivia night at the Wine on the Waterfront at The Landing mall when he decided to walk downstairs to check on the display.
“That’s when I noticed it, at about 10 p.m.,” Mischke said.
Mischke said the vandals appeared to be about 15 years old.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to view that tomorrow, and hopefully recognize who they are,” Benedict said on Thursday.
Nor’Wester Rotary gained support from area business to build the Christmas Village display.
Benefit display
It opened on Nov. 15 as a benefit for the Salvation Army in Port Angeles.
Admission to visit Santa Claus at the display is one can of food. Cash donations are welcome.
Exhibit organizer Doc Reiss said the display generates about 45 to 50 cans of food for the Salvation Army daily.
“At first I was disappointed when I heard about it, but I’m grateful the damage there is repairable,” Reiss said.
The sculptors — Charlie Beaulieu of Kingston, Damon Langlois of Victoria, and Brent Terry of Bothel — were not available to make the repairs on Thursday, so Reiss decided he would try to rebuild the display himself.
Sculptor to fix it
Later on Thursday, Reiss got word that Beaulieu, the master sculptor, would return to Port Angeles to fix it.
“He said ‘I’m coming back up there to redo it for Port Angeles,'” Reiss said.
“It may be tomorrow or it may be this weekend. He just said, ‘This is for the Salvation Army, this is for Christmas. We want to do this right.'”
The sand sculptures are made of glacial till with a high clay content. The sand hardens when it dries.
“If you hit, it its like trying to hit a rock,” Reiss said. “The majority of the sculpture is intact, which is great, all things considered.”
About 55 tons of sand was saved from July’s Arts in Action sand sculpture competition at Hollywood Beach. The same sand was used in the Christmas Village display.
“The girls were kind enough to try carve their initials, and they left really clean footprints in the sand,” Reiss added.
“We’re going to try to repair what they’ve done.”
Even if the vandals are caught, Benedict said he isn’t sure if charges will be filed.
“We haven’t crossed that bridge yet,” Benedict said.
“There has to be a dollar amount. Nor’Wester Rotary is kind of victim in this. Ultimately, I’m gong to let them decide what they’re going to do.”
Paul Cronauer, owner of The Landing mall, said the vandals defied what the Christmas spirit is all about.
“It’s just a shame that these kids would be that insensitive to the community,” Cronauer said.
It took the three sculptors four days to build the display, which has cottages, snowmen, elves, icicles, trees and a giant Santa bag.
“Up until last night, nobody had touched the sculptures,” Reiss said.
“It’s something that you deal with when you have sand sculptures in a public place.”
Cronauer watched a group of young children come to the display on Thursday morning, only to be disappointed by what they saw.
“We’re going to rebuild this and have it available through Christmas,” Cronauer said.
Cronauer encouraged the community to visit the display and support the Salvation Army.
Benedict said the vandalism appears to be an isolated incident in downtown Port Angeles.
“I think this was more a case of some kids down there goofing off, and they just got carried away,” he said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
