Sand Sculptures at Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival, Florida at Clearwater Beach, Florida, April 23, 2017. Courtesy: Shutterstock – Photo by Ilya Images
Just when you thought the festival and event cancelations were behind us in 2020—think again.
Florida is known for its beautiful coastline and white sandy beaches along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. And on these coastlines, festivals and events happen throughout the year on the sandy beaches for visitors across the globe to enjoy.
Sadly, the pandemic is claiming yet another event to be canceled, forcing organizers of the annual Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival to “sunset” and postpone the sand sculpting display.
Presented by Visit St. Pete Clearwater, the Sugar Sand Festival would have been celebrating its 8th birthday along Pier 60 on one of the country’s most celebrated beaches—Clearwater Beach.
Clearwater Beach has long ranked as one of the best beaches in the country by Travel and Leisure and other travel outlets for its white-sand beaches, proximity to entertainment, and famous Pier 60.
The Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival was scheduled to take place in April over a 17-day event. Festival organizer Lisa Chandler released a statement saying, “Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions on large gatherings, the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival is unable to take place in April. We will continue to keep you informed and look forward to creating another sandtastic’ event in 2022.”
The news comes likely due to Florida’s continued climbing COVID-19 numbers after reporting the highest single-day spike in cases since the start of the pandemic with 17,786 new cases.
Thousands of spectators, Florida residents, and beach lovers congregate along the beach to witness globally-recognized sand artists compete and display their best and craziest sand creations under a 21,000-square foot tent. The event also includes free live music, sand sculpting classes, and kid’s play zones.
The Sugar Sand Festival now joins the SOBEWFF on South Beach as yet another canceled/postponed beachside event for 2021.
Florida’s #1 Sand Sculpting Festival will have to wait just a bit longer before being able to return for patrons to enjoy safely. Until then, there are hundreds of beaches, 663 to be exact, throughout the Sunshine State that are welcoming visitors in a socially distanced manner, of course.
Just a few months back, we released our Top-10 “Must Visit” Beaches in Florida, and Clearwater Beach didn’t crack the list! Because there are so many options to choose from, it’s so hard to single out any of our great beaches. But check out that article by clicking here to find your next Florida beach destination or see if your favorite cracked our list.
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William is a South Florida native with professional experience writing at the collegiate and national news outlet level. He loves fishing, playing soccer and watching sports in his spare time and is a fan of all South Florida teams.