Sand Snowman Contest

On Dec. 3, the annual Sand Snowman Contest was held on Hermosa Beach. It was a perfect-​weather day for this adorable event, where families and other would-​be sand artists turned out at 9 a.m. to build the best, funniest, or most unique sand sculpture they could put together before the judging at 11:30. Beach Boys music blared from the judges’ stand as everyone worked furiously & seriously. Sand was flyin’ everywhere. People ran with buckets of water from the ocean. They used molds and props and whatever else they could think of. I had to stand in line to take photos of the finished sandmen, because townspeople were posing their kids with the sand sculptures (it took forever to get the kids to quit screaming, remove their fingers from their noses, and smile for the camera), presumably for Holiday card photos. Still, an enjoyable experience to be on the warm, sunny beach havin’ fun in the middle of winter.