PHOTO: Andreas Sievert puts the final touches on a sand castle Sunday in Capitola during the inaugural Capitola Beach Festival, a replacement of the long-standing Begonia Festival. (Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
CAPITOLA — The inaugural Capitola Beach Festival, a spin-off of the long-running Begonia Festival, unfolded over the weekend in Capitola Village. The community event included a 5k Fun Run, a horseshoe tournament, the Lighted Nautical Parade, a fishing derby, Sand Sculpture Contest, chalk art drawings, rowboat races and more.
Trophies were aplenty for winners of the various events, which drew huge crowds to the village over the weekend.
Laurie Hill, past president of the Begonia Festival, described the weekend as “fantastic.”
“I’m speechless,” she said Sunday as she viewed the various sand castle entries. “This festival was created by a very talented team. These events send people home with a lot of memories. It’s a unique event and I believe people that come here come away with a lot.”
Andreas Sievert, a member of the sand castle building team. The Castle of Scandinavia, said he found the overall experience rewarding.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” he said. “To see all the people come out and get excited by the sand castles makes it worth it.”
