Let MTS be your ride to the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3-D Art Exposition.  Three hundred tons of sand will be brought to the B Street Pier for an urban sand sculpture extravaganza! 

The U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge & 3-D Art Exposition is open to the public from 9 a.m.- 7 p.m. on August 31st- September 3rd.

The four day event will be tons of fun and transit riders get a discount!  Show your transit pass at entry to receive $3 off the admission price. 

OR

Print this coupon to recieve $3 off the admission price!

There will be hundreds of thousands of people going downtown for the Labor Day festivities so public transportation is definitely the way to go!

A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Young Audiences of San Diego and Maritime Museum Children's Education Programs.

Friday, August 31

Gates are open from 9am to 7:00pm. World Masters start their 2nd full day of sculpting. They break for lunch from 12:30-1:30 and end their day at 5:30, when visitors can get a closer look at their progress to date.

The So Cool SoCal Carvers begin their sculptures at 12:30; end their day at 6:00. Dimensional artists display their metal and glass sculptures, their ceramics and wood carvings, wall décor, clothing, jewelry and more, all day long.

Kids' sandboxes are open all day. Counselor volunteers and walk-around entertainers appear throughout the day. Stage entertainment at 11:00, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00.

Coffee and other beverages are available all day. Food vendors and wine/beer garden open at 11:00.

Saturday, Sept. 1

Gates are open from 9am to 7:00pm. World Masters start their 3rd full day of sculpting. They break for lunch from 12:30-1:30 and end their day at 5:30, when visitors can get a closer look at their 3rd day's progress. They're almost done.

So Cool SoCal Carvers begin the 2nd day working on their sculptures at 9:00; break for lunch between 1:00 and 2:00 and end their day at 6:00. Dimensional artists display their metal and glass sculptures, their ceramics and wood carvings, wall décor, clothing, jewelry and more, all day long.

The I.B Challenge begins at 10:30am. The 2 teams who've won the former U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition in 9 of the last 10 years, Archisand and I.B. Posse, face off against each other in a head-to-head competition. They'll be sculpting until 5:30 this night and most of Sunday as well (see below).

Kids' sandboxes are open all day. Counselor volunteers and walk-around entertainers appear throughout the day. Stage entertainment at 11:00, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00.

Coffee and other beverages are available all day. Food vendors and wine/beer garden open at 11:00.

Sunday, Sept. 2

Gates are open from 9am to 7:00pm. World Masters start their 4th day of sculpting and complete their masterpieces at 12:30. So Cool SoCal Carvers begin their 3rd day and complete their work at 1:30. I.B. Challenge teams start at 9:00am and complete their sculptures at 2:30.

Dimensional artists display their metal and glass sculptures, their ceramics and wood carvings, wall décor, clothing, jewelry and more, all day long.

Judges begin their work immediately after carvers complete theirs, judging the World Masters starting at 12:30, and the So Cool SoCal Carvers at 1:30. The I.B. Challenge is strictly a "People's Choice" competition, enabling San Diegans who've enjoyed these teams' work for so many years to have their say in which one gets the trophy for 2012.

People's Choice trophies will also be awarded in the World Masters and So Cool SoCal sand sculpture classes, and in 8 classes of artwork in permanent media. These include metal sculpture wood stone leather, fabric and paper glass gemstones and jewelry ceramics and resins best overall.

If you want your vote to count, be sure you're on the pier when voting is open, between 1:30 and 3:00 for sand sculptures and until closing for artists in other media.

The sand sculpture award ceremony will take place at 4:00pm on Sunday afternoon, giving checks and trophies for World Masters, So Cool SoCal Carvers and the I.B. Challenge. A highly-recognizable surprise guest just may show up to make the presentations to the winners.

As always, the kids' sandboxes are open all day. Volunteer counselors and walk-around entertainers appear throughout the day. Stage entertainment is scheduled at 11:00, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00.

Coffee and other beverages are available all day. Food vendors and wine/beer garden open at 11:00.

Gates are open from 9am to 7:00pm. If you weren't on the pier after Sunday's award ceremony to see which sculptures were judged most magnificent by event officials, didn't catch the 11:00pm news, or simply want to see these amazing sand sculptures up close on their last day on the planet, this is the day to visit the pier.

At 11:00am the winners of the People's Choice awards will be handed out for your favorite 3D artists in all 8 classes of permanent media (other than sand … sand ain't ever permanent … that's what's so darn intriguing about it).

The kids' sandboxes are open all day. Volunteer counselors and walk-around entertainers appear throughout the day. Stage entertainment is at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30.

Coffee and other beverages are available all day. Food vendors and wine/beer garden open at 11:00.

At 7:00pm, close until Labor Day weekend, 2013.