Beachgoers Show Off Masterpieces At Belmar Sand Castle Contest
BELMAR, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Artists and spectators gathered at the annual Sand Castle Contest in Belmar, N.J., Wednesday as participants got creative in the sand, WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported.
Some were out of the ordinary, like one participant's "tropical train station," while another constructed an ice cream cone.
Andrew Guarera and his two daughters from Old Bridge enter the contest each year and built a sand castle this year.
"Well, that's what they said so that's what we did," Guarera said. "It's incredible what the children do and what the adults do."
"I have a great time every year we come and do this," his eldest daughter said.
Allen Weiner of Wall checked out entries like the snowman.
"There's something a little ironic about a snowman," Wall said.
Although the contest has been around for more than 20 years, building sand castles in Belmar wasn't always legal.
In 2011, the Borough Council overturned a law on the books that read "No person shall model or design in the sand or upon any of the material upon the beachfront except with written consent," reported the Asbury Park Press.
"It's one of those ridiculous government regulations that exist on occasion and once we recognize it, we changed it," Mayor Matthew Doherty told Putney back in May 2011.
Mayor Doherty said police never wrote a ticket for it, but it was punishable by a $25 fine before overturning the law.
Even though you can now build them legally, it's still illegal for them to linger: would-be architects must demolish their creations upon leaving the beach.
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