Sand In My Shorts

Sand in my shorts Jacob Delgado

Summer is the perfect time for watermelon, kakigori, 5” shorts, and of course the beach. The local beach in Mitane is called Kamayahama and every summer it is the home of the famous Sand Craft Festival. The festival is held within the month of August and perfectly lines up with summer vacation. The main aspect of the festival are large intricate sand sculptures erected right on the beach and put on display for everyone's enjoyment. While the sculptures are typically made by artists from all around the world, this year the sculptors were composed of artists from around Japan. Like any other Japanese festival you can expect delicious food vendors and fun activities. Typically Sand Craft includes a bikini contest, live music, and a firework show as well. Unfortunately due to covid-19 we could only enjoy a paired down version

of Sand Craft. This year's festivities included a fun opening ceremony and about a month of night illumination of the sculptures. I was lucky enough to volunteer the week leading up to the festival. During my volunteer time I helped the festival team make bamboo lights which were also on display for a portion of the festival. Volunteering and chopping it up with the team until well after sundown was a lot of fun and a great experience overall and a great way to get more involved in the local community. Hopefully next year we’ll all be able to enjoy a more normal version of Sand Craft.