Submitted by Hands On Children’s Museum
The South Sound’s largest family festival, Sand in the City®, is bringing expert sand sculptors from the West Coast to captivate festival-goers at its first Masters’ Exhibition.
The masters will soak, stomp and shake sand into works of art Saturday, Aug. 23, and Sunday, Aug. 24, at the Hands On Children’s Museum on Olympia’s East Bay.
Sand in the City® includes the Masters’ Exhibition with free entertainment and hands-on art and science activities on the streets surrounding the museum, as well as discounted admission to visit the children’s museum. All donations, food sales, store sales, event sponsorships and discounted museum admissions during Olympia’s event support the Hands On Children’s Museum’s Free and Reduced
Admissions Programs, which serve more than 85,000 children and adults each year.
Sand in the City’s Big Beach Party begins Saturday, Aug. 23, from 10 a.m.–7 p.m., with a public viewing of the Masters’ Exhibition. Kids can dig in giant sandboxes loaded with toys and sculpting tools and participate in 40 interactive art and science activities spread throughout the street, East Bay Public Plaza and inside the museum.
Activities include a rock climbing wall, giant bubbles, a TotSpot Early Learning Center and museum-led art activities. In the Make-and-Take crafts area, kids can create Hawaiian leis, wax paper flowers and sand bands. Inside the museum, families can learn about the music of the Pacific Islands and make musical instruments and crafts.
Don’t miss the all-day entertainment on the stage, including martial arts, country music, African drummers, young fiddlers, Zumba and Irish dancers. Favorite local food vendors and food trucks will be on site.
Sunday, Aug. 24, is Grandparents’ Day from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Families can enjoy all of the fun activities of Saturday’s Beach Party and participate in additional activities designed for children and grandparents to do together.
During Sand in the City, all event activities and entertainment on the streets surrounding the museum and the East Bay Public Plaza are free. Donations are appreciated and support the museum’s Free Access Program.
Festival-goers can also explore inside the museum exhibits Aug. 22-24 for a discounted admission rate of just $5 per person. Families can play and learn in nine themed galleries and 150 hands-on exhibits, including MakeSpace in the Arts & Parts Studio, where kids can tinker, design and build using real tools and materials. For the price of admission, festival visitors can also explore the museum’s Outdoor Discovery Center, including a two-story stick sculpture by renowned environmental artist Patrick Dougherty, and the Driftwood Fort Construction Area, where kids can build their own driftwood forts.
For more information about Sand in the City®, visit www.hocm.org/sandinthecity.