Beachgoers are being challenged to build four hundred sandcastles in two hours on Scarborough's South Bay to celebrate the town's landmark anniversary.
Four hundred sandcastles will transform Scarborough's South Bay this weekend as part of a massive seaside building challenge.
Families, children, and adults will gather on the beach with their buckets and spades to attempt the monumental feat in just two hours.
The mass building event forms part of the wider Scarborough 400 celebrations and the Heritage Open Days.
Organisers are urging participants to bring their own equipment to the beach at 11:00 AM on Sunday to help reach the ambitious target.
The original plan for the celebration involved breaking a world record, but event planners soon realised the immense scale of that challenge.
Catherine Goble, festival manager for Scarborough Fair, explained the background to the event:
"So we are trying to build 400 sand castles on South Bay, obviously 400, for Scarborough 400. The idea came about from trying to set a world record for the number of sand castles, but we discovered that was a lot more than 400. So we it was over 1,000. So. So yeah, so it would have been silly so the idea is to just have a sand castle building competition. Get people down to the beach. It sort of harks back to the heyday of a seaside resort. You know, people building sand castles was such a traditional thing to do. So this is a really great and easy way that everybody can get involved with, young or old. It's not just open to children. We want adults there as well, and we'd like to see creations, so not just tipping a bucket up, but let's see what people can make."
Creativity will be rewarded during the 120-minute challenge, with multiple prizes up for grabs for the most impressive sandy structures.
Builders are encouraged to construct elaborate designs rather than simply turning over a single bucket of sand.
Successful architects can win family tickets to see 'Puss in Boots' and 'Hairy Bob's Christmas Jumper' at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, as well as passes to the 'Robin Hood' pantomime at Scarborough Spa.
A family ticket to Filey Zoo and afternoon tea for two at Oliver's on the Mount are also on offer, with more prizes expected to be announced.
Catherine Goble detailed the different categories and rewards available for the top builders:
"we have prizes donated from the Steven Joseph Theatre, so we've got family tickets to their two Christmas shows from Scarper Spa, family ticket to their pantomime. We have a family ticket to Filey Zoo and also afternoon tea for two at Olivers on the mount which is your more adult prize if you like. We do have a junior category, a teen category, and we also have you know, sort of our favourite sandcastle if you like, the best sandcastle. Then we've also got the best Scarborough themed sandcastle. Obviously we're celebrating Scarborough 400, we're celebrating Scarborough the place. So if there's anything that people, I don't know, maybe want to make the lighthouse or the castle or something like that out of sand then that would be great too."
The massive beach challenge offers a nostalgic nod to traditional British seaside holidays while marking a major milestone in the town's history.
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