35th Annual AIA Sandcastle Competition

The annual AIA Sandcastle Competition is a fundraising event for AIA Houston, ArCH Foundation, and is one of the top five revenue generating events for Galveston. (Photo courtesy of Galveston Island CVB) 

The AIA Sandcastle Competition is a fundraising event for AIA Houston and ArCH Foundation as well as one of the top five revenue generating events for the City of Galveston. Competing teams have their eyes and shovels set on winning the prestigious Gold Bucket Award. Firms begin months in advance generating ideas, developing designs, and assigning duties. On the day of the event, the teams - stretched along the beach front - meticulously sculpt their piles of sand and work non-stop for five hours.

The judging of the sculptures is rated on originality of concept, artistic execution, technical difficulty, carving technique, and utilization of the site. In addition to the Gold Bucket, SIlver Shovel and Bronze Shovel, awards are given for Sustainability, College Challenge, Structural Ingenuity, Team T-shirt and Team Sign.  The themed categories are Traditional Castle and Architectural Icon, and - NEW FOR 2022 - Pop Culture (Food, Selfies & Social Media...What's your Hashtag?), Kidtastic - Board Games, Space Race (NASA JSC 60th Anniversary) and Americana (Route 66 + MIdcentury America).  At the end of the day, everyone goes home with memories of a great day at the beach filled with fun, sand, and sun.

EVENT DAY
6:30am Beach opens for teams and sponsors
9:00am Public is encouraged to begin to arrive to watch the competition
10:00am - 3:00pm Teams compete and build
10:00pm-4:00pm Castle creation zone
1:00pm - 3:30pm Public favorite voting
3:00 - 4:30pm Judging
4:30pm Awards Ceremony