SEAL BEACH : Sandcastle Contest to Be Held Saturday

The shores of Seal Beach will be transformed into a fantasy land of sandcastles Saturday when the United Way of Orange County holds its annual sand sculpting competition.

Last year, more than 20,000 people flocked to Seal Beach to watch teams compete to build the best sandcastle. The contest kicks off the United Way’s fund-raising season.

“The event is not a fund-raiser. It’s really held to let our corporate sponsors and member agencies get out and do something fun,” said Dena Montiel, spokeswoman for the United Way.

More than 40 teams will hit the beach at 10 a.m. to scoop, stack and sculpt their sand creations before the 4 p.m. deadline. Nature can often work against the builders, as members of the Fluor Corp. team found in 1990 when stress cracks played havoc with their sand sculpture replica of an Easter Island statue.

A third of the sculpture crashed. But from the ruins, the team built King Tut’s death mask and the Great Pyramid of Giza. Despite the effort, the Fluor team did not win an award.

The big winner for the last three years has been the team from the Women’s Transitional Living Center. The center’s team hopes this year will be no exception, said Jeanine Adams, associate executive director for the center and official photographer for the agency’s sandcastle.

“Actually, it’s more of a sculpture,” Adams said. “This year our theme is the ‘Lion shall lie down with the lamb.’ We deal in promoting domestic peace and felt it was appropriate.” The team will sculpt a lion and lamb and hopes stress cracks respect peace, she said.

Free parking will be provided by Rockwell International at Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Seal Beach. The Orange County Transportation Authority is providing shuttle service from Rockwell International for 50 cents each way.