News file photo This is a sand sculpture of Captain America from The Alpena News Sandcastle Contest in 2024.

ALPENA — Get your buckets and shovels ready for the annual sandcastle contest this Fourth of July.

The annual The Alpena Sandcastle Contest will be one of the highlights of the local 4th of July celebration and continues to be a popular event.

“The Alpena News has been hosting the annual sand castle contest since 2013,” The News Advertising Consultant Laura Lancewicz said. “The contest is one of the community’s favorite events on the 4th of July. Many families plan their 4th of July holiday around participating in the sandcastle contest and return to compete every year.”

The Alpena News Sandcastle Contest will be taking place once again this year on July 4 at Starlite Beach.

Registration for the contest begins at 8 a.m. and judging begins at 3:30 p.m. The winners of the adult and kids divisions will be announced at 4 p.m.

The first-place prize in the adult division, ages 12 and up, will be worth $250 donated by Sytek Ortho. The first-place prize in the kids division, ages 11 and younger, will be a gift from Hungry Howies for one large one topping pizza per week for a year.

Second and third place prizes will also be awarded in each division.

Community members can participate in the people’s choice voting costing $1 per vote. All proceeds will go to the people’s choice winners.

Sand sculptures will be judged on Originality, use of natural resources, size and shape, and artistic form.

The kinds of sculptures range from classic castles to cartoon characters to whatever you can put your imagination to. Community Editor Steve Schulwitz said he is excited to see this year’s entries and visit with members of the community who are at the beach.

“It always amazes me how a large or small pile of sand turns out to be a masterpiece of art,” Schulwitz said. “The talent and creativity from the participants each year is always amazing. The sandcastle contest is another way The News gives back to the local community and adds a fun and exciting event to the local Independence Day celebration.”

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at rvoetberg@thealpenanews.org or 989-358-5683.