What to Expect at the Sun & Sea Festival

The U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition is no more, but summer sandcastles in Imperial Beach live on with the Sun & Sea Festival.

The festival will be held June 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Portwood Pier Plaza and will include art kids can take home, music by the School of Rock house band, said Jim Hutzelman from the Port of San Diego. 

Modeled in part after an event held last year called Kids Fest, circus acts and lessons will be offered to teach kids how to cross tight ropes, walk on balls and other acrobatic skills.

There will be no adult sandcastle competition this year but well-known local teams I.B. Posse, Archisand and the Sand Squirrels will team up to make one giant sculpture commemorating the Port of San Diego's 50th anniversary and the Imperial Beach lifestyle, Hutzelman said.

The Optimist Club of Imperial Beach will host its Kids N' Kastles competition for children ages 12 and under. Up to 20 teams of five will compete.

Click here to register.

Unlike in the past, vendors will not line Seacoast Drive. A limited amount of vendors will be allowed but attendees are encouraged to eat at local restaurants. 

The Sun & Sea Festival has a place in the City of Imperial Beach's history unlike any other event. The first Sun & Sea Festival was held in the 1960s. Back then the festival had a parade, carnival, fireworks and celebration of the City of Imperial Beach's birthday. 

The first U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition sandcastle competition was held at a Sun & Sea Festival in 1980. Over time the festival was no longer held and many of its activities were incorporated into the sandcastle competition, whose organizing committee dissolved in 2011.