Sentosa Celebrates Sandsational Fun this September with S.E. Asia's Biggest Sand Festival!

SENTOSA, Singapore - Aug. 22, 2017 - PRLog -- Come September, immerse yourselves in Sandsational Fun at Sentosa under the sun! From 1-17 September, the island's Siloso Beach will be home to Southeast Asia's biggest sand festival, featuring a plethora of exciting activities set to delight guests from all over.

Ms Lynette Ang, Chief Marketing Officer at Sentosa Development Corporation said, "In our continuing engagement with the local community and tourists, we are constantly looking to enhance our 'always-on' calendar of events and build signature events that will put Singapore on the world map. Capitalising on Sentosa's unique assets of sun, sea and sand, the sand festival is a befitting way to celebrate the island's 45th anniversary. "

Anchoring the three-week festival will be Sentosa Sandsation 2017, featuring more than 30 intricately-carved and larger-than-life sand sculptures of some five metres in height. Spread over 2,400 square metres of exhibition space on Siloso Beach, guests can journey through three zones showcasing different experiences, from 10am – 9pm daily. Admission is free.

"The local sand sculpting scene can trace its roots to Sentosa Sandsation, which made its debut in 1999. The appeal of sand sculptures has since persisted, evident in the popularity of Sands of Times, which was held to celebrate SG50 and attracted more than 80,000 visitors to Siloso Beach over four days in 2015. We are excited to bring this event back, bigger and better than ever before. By extending the exhibition to 9pm, guests will have the added visual treat of viewing the sand sculptures amid lighting effects and enjoy the pleasure of a scenic stroll by the beach in the cool evening breeze," Ms Ang added.

Sentosa Sandsation 2017

Zone 1: Our Sandsational Singapore (Singapore, Ho Say!)

Welcoming guests to the exhibition will be 15 three-dimensional sculptures inspired by Singapore's unique blend of culture, humour, quirks and colloquialism. These intricately-carved sand artworks will depict various facets of Singaporeans' everyday life, both past and present.

Passing through the multi-sensory exhibits marrying visuals with audio in the story-telling, guests will discover sand works inspired by local experiences, situations and phrases such as "So Jialat!" ; "Blur like Sotong, Gabra like Zebra", "Jiak Zua" and "So Wayang" to name a few.

Zone 2: Sentosa International Sand Sculpting Championship

In the next zone, Sentosa will play host to 14 world-renowned sand masters from 13 nations across the world, who will be showcasing their creative sand works around the theme, 'Imagination'. Among the renowned participants of the championship are Sudarsan Pattnaik from India, David Enguerrand from Belgium, Leonardo Ugolini from Italy, Sergio Ramirez from Spain, Borecki Wiaczeslaw from Poland, Calixto Molina from Mexico, Aleksei Shchitov from Russia, Bob Atisso from Togo, among others.

These sand masters will pit their skills against each other from 28 – 31 August 2017, with the top three winners walking away with cash prizes totalling more than S$12,000.

Zone 3: Shifting Sand 2

Leading the team of sand sculptors for Sentosa Sandsation 2017 is JOOheng Tan, an internationally- acclaimed Singapore sand artist, whose works have been showcased in over 70 cities across more than 20 countries.

In the last zone, JOOheng will commemorate his 20th year of transforming ordinary sand into incredible artworks through a series of interactive sand art pieces. In this technique pioneered by JOOheng, guests will "step into" the art pieces and become part of the artwork. This showcase pays homage to his first solo exhibition held at Sentosa's Palawan Beach back in 2010.

JOOheng commented, "Sentosa will forever hold a special place in my heart as this was the place that propelled the start of my sand sculpting career. 20 years on, I feel that it will be really meaningful to be back once again on home ground. This homecoming is made even more endearing as I am given the opportunity to curate the exhibition and bring in international talents for the showcase. I would certainly love to see this event grow in the coming years, and for more Singaporeans to be inspired to shine on the global stage of sand sculpting."

The immersive sand work in this zone will be refreshed every week, and guests are welcomed to come back for a different view each week. Visitors to Sentosa Sandsation between Mondays and Thursdays will be able to witness the master at work, while Sentosa Islander members will get the exclusive opportunity to snap a photo with the interactive sand works from Fridays - Sundays.

People's Choice Awards

As they tour the exhibition, guests can take part in the People's Choice Awards and pick their favourite sand sculpture by simply taking a photo with their favourite sand artwork, posting it on Instagram with the hash tags #SentosaSandsation and #SandsationalContest, while stating the reason(s) for their choice. A winner will be drawn from the entries featuring the most popular sculpture, and he/she will walk away with a 2D1N Sentosa staycation package. Results of the People's Choice Awards will be announced after 20 September 2017.

Exciting Programming from dawn till dusk

When night falls, not only can visitors take in the sights at Sentosa Sandsation with lighting effects, they can also head over to the Merlion Plaza and be entertained by the dazzling Merlion Magic Lights. This iconic and ever-popular light and music show will feature a new neon theme starting 1 September. Be sure to catch it daily until 29 October, starting at 7.45pm, with 30-minute show intervals until 9.15pm. Two additional shows will be held on weekends, eve of public holidays and public holidays.

To find out more information about Sandsational Fun at Sentosa 2017, please visit http://www.sentosa.com.sg/sandsation.