Leap…imagination in learning
Presents
The Largest Sandcastle-Building Contest in Northern California
SAN FRANCISCO (August 7, 2009) – On Saturday, October 3, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Leap’s 26th Annual Sandcastle Contest will spring to life at Ocean Beach, near the Cliff House. This year’s theme, “Stories in the Sand: Classic Children’s Books,” will inspire an array of one-of-a-kind creations featuring elaborate castles, formidable monsters, and gargantuan monuments in approximately twenty-five 400-square-foot plots.
Every fall, Leap…imagination in learning (Leap) orchestrates the spectacular Sandcastle Contest as its major fundraising event. The contest is open to the public, free of charge, and supported by the local construction industry, including architects, engineers, and contractors who come together to support arts education in Bay Area schools. At this year’s event, these professionals will join students from local elementary schools in a collaborative attempt to reshape Mother Nature and push the limits of creativity.
Leap will also debut a new feature at the 2009 contest: a community sandcastle-building area where bystanders can team up with volunteers and one of Leap’s teaching architects to try their hand at designing their own sand structure. Participants in this activity are encouraged to donate $5 - $10 to ensure the contest’s continued success. Participants who donate $10 or more will receive a Leap Sandcastle t-shirt.
Leap, a local nonprofit organization, was established in response to severe cuts in California arts-education funding following the passage of Proposition 13 in 1979. In today’s economic climate, arts education in public schools is at even greater risk. As Leap’s thirtieth anniversary approaches, we are striving to preserve endangered arts curricula by bringing visual and performing artists and architects into classrooms for extended residencies that foster children’s creative energy. And because Leap residents partner with teachers to design participatory projects that complement and amplify their schools’ curricula, Leap’s benefits resonate long after the programs themselves have ended.
Our illustrious Sandcastle Contest judges in years past have included KFOG radio personality Peter Finch; Wayne Cook, of the California Arts Council; Trudy Zimmerman, Leap’s founding Executive Director; Chloe Harris, associate editor, 7x7 magazine; and Joel Bartlett, weather anchor for KGO Television. Another stellar lineup of judges is in the works for this year’s contest, including Fiona Ma, State Assembly; Linda Fairchild, Linda Fairchild Contemporary Art; and Ashley Wolff, children’s book author.
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Help Leap put art back in our schools.
For more information, call 415-512-1899. Photos of the 2008 sandcastles can be found at: www.leap4kids.org
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