Castles in the Sand

This weekend, I went to the Revere Beach SandSculpting event for the very first time. Upon arrival my jaw dropped, for I didn’t expect to see so many awesome vendors and that the sculpting would be so amazing. In the learning center tent, I explained to several families about the lobsterswe had in our touch tanks. There were some kids who were eager to touch them while some were scarred to even be near one. Though it was nice to see some of the kids who were initially afraid, warm up to the fearful creature. One of my favorite moments at this event was admiring the beautiful sculptures. Many talented artists incorporated elements of the sea whichreminded me of why I love the oceans so much. My favorite sand sculptures were the one of the turtle and the giant castle. I liked the turtle because I personally like turtles, but it’s also a creature that depends so heavily on the beaches. Without healthy beaches, turtles wouldn’t be able to nest properly and the world would begin to lack in a precious creature that is so iconic to the oceans. The giant sand castle was just really cool and it had such amazing detail. It must have taken a very long time to build because it was so large and intricate. All in all I loved being at this event and I hope it had the same effect on everyone who attended as it did on me. I hope to return to Revere Beach to hang out with my friends and admire the beautiful place that is so accessible to everyone in Boston.

Another Busy Week -- From the Islands to Sandcastle Contests

Hey guys!

This past week was jam-packed -- I was working all over the city, starting at the Harry McDonough Sailing Center in South Boston, moving on to George's Island with All Access, and ending the week on Sunday at the Revere Beach Sandcastle Contest. On my day off, I was lucky enough to go to AquaPalooza for some fun in the sun!

At George's Island, I lead lots of campers into the tunnels in Fort Warren to search for the Lady in Black -- even though I've been in the tunnels plenty of times before, I still get a little scared every time I take a group in there. At the McDonough Center I got to spend some quality time on the docks, looking for fish and crabs.

I was really excited to go to the Revere Beach Sandcastle Contest; every year the sand sculptures are amazing, and this year was even better than last year. My favorite was the lion! Even though it was extremely hot, the Save the Harbor team stayed cool in the shade and interacted with children at our lobster touch tank.




I can't wait to see what this week's going to bring!

~Carolyn

A Day at the Beach

I spent this past Sunday afternoon showing off our touch tank (and working on my tan!) at the Revere Beach sand-sculpting festival. We were lucky to get perfect beach weather for the event and the turnout on Sunday was great!

Lots of kids, parents, and others came by to check out our lobsters and learn more about our Better Beaches and Youth programs.

Since the day was so nice, I convinced my dad to tag along as well. He was a cab driver in Boston back in the 70's, but hadn't been back to Revere Beach in over 25 years. Based on his memories of the beach back then he was a bit hesitant to go. When I met him at the end of the day though, he had nothing but good things to say about the beach and the festival

On our way back home he told me: "I'm shocked at how much this place has changed! I had no idea there was such a nice beach so close to our house, I'm going to come back again!" I thought that pretty well summed up what our beaches programs are all about.

-Paula

Lions and Turtles and Castles, Oh My!

Hello Boston! How was your weekend?

Let me tell you a little bit about ours. This past weekend was one of the most exciting weekends of the summer on our beaches-- Revere Beach Partnership hosted their annual National Sand Sculpting Festival, the largest festival of its kind on the east coast! Every year, the festival attracts hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to Revere Beach to see the scultors at work and to marvel at their finished works of art. I even rode the T with students from Mexico, Russia, Italy and Turkey (just to name a few) who were here studying English in the mornings and taking day trips around Boston in the afternoons. People were literally coming to Revere from all over the world!

Now, if you've never been to Revere Beach for the Festival, you might not understand how breathtaking and unbelievable these sculptures are. You might be thinking, "Big deal, it's just a bunch of sandcastles, right?"

Wrong:

You see that castle? There are LIGHTS in the windows! They truly outdid themselves this year.

I got to see the sculptors at work, but if you head over to Revere right now, the finished works of sand art are still intact along the beach by the Bandstand. Hurry over before it rains this week! You really won't regret it, and you'll be absolutely floored by the things that Revere's sculptors can do with sand.

I want to say a HUGE congratulations to Ernie Garneau and Revere Beach Partnership for another fantastic event this year. They made some awesome improvements to past years (as if past years needed improvement!), and they went extremely well. Ernie and his team created the "Learning Village" this year, placing all youth-centered activities in one place for the first time. They also created the "Community Village" where all of Revere's small non-profit community groups were group together, giving them a sense of togetherness and a whole lot a foot traffic. These were great additions for the community in Revere, and great ways for the Revere community to share their gifts with such a large local, national, and international audience! We're extremely proud to partner with them and work alongside them to make our Harbor a better place, and a place we can share with so many people each year.

See you on the docks!

Michelle Palermino

Revere Sand Sculptures

On Saturday I spent my day at the Revere sand sculpture event showcasing a lobster to any interested bystanders. Things did not start off well on the day, but we put that aside and focused on doing what we went there to do. The sculptures were all amazing, each one better than the other. Before heading for revere in the morning, our awesome marine educator, Aaron Becker, anticipated that we would not be able to catch any lobsters at the beach and so we decided we should buy one. We placed our purchased lobster in a touch tank and waited. It did not take long before we got our first group of visitors. They were then followed by waves and waves of other interested people, both children and adults, even seniors. We were kept busy the entire day. We had a blast at Revere, it was the most fun I have had at a beach for a while now; looking forward to the next beach event already!!

~Cesc

Saturday Sandcastle Sculptures

Hello everyone!

So after wrapping up my second week with Save the Harbor at All Access, I was ready for a nice relaxing weekend...until I remembered that I was going with Save the Harbor to Revere Beach on Saturday for the Sandcastle Contest.

The Sandcastle Contest is very famous, and thousands of people from all over the world come to Revere to see all the different sandcastles. Sand sculptures might be a better name for them-they are so amazing to see, and it was cool to see the artists at work building their masterpieces.

Once I met up with Aaron, Aruna, and Thi, we found a shady spot under the pavilion and set up a touch tank with a lobster who was named Sarah by one of the many young visitors wanting to know if they could pet the lobster. Despite the heat, the kids all had a blast and a lot of people wanted to learn more about the other children's programs that we run throughout the summer.

Another great day with Save the Harbor! I'll report back on Tuesday after All Access...

-Carolyn