‘B’ Street Pier
1140 North Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101

2019 Winners
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Sue McGrew

Sculpting Since: High School
Location: Tacoma, Washington

High School love doesn’t tend to last, but for Sue McGrew it hasn’t just lasted…it’s thrived.  She got a taste of sand sculpting in high school and was immediately smitten.  “I was hopelessly addicted,” she admitted.  And that love only grew when she went to USC to study Theatre-Stage Management (with a minor in Sculpture of course).  After getting her BFA, Sue focused on sand sculpting and entered competitions with great success.

She is one of the youngest professional sand sculptors in the world and has also shown prowess in snow and ice sculpting. “I think you never stop growing . . . I want to grow as an artist across all media,” she said.  She has been featured on Sand Masters on The Travel Channel, as well as Sandblaster III – The Extreme Sand Sculpting Competition.  With talent, skill and youth all on her side, Sue has become a major player in competitive sand sculpting.

Notable Achievements:

  • Regular on the televised show Sand Masters on The Travel Channel
  • Appeared on The Travel Channel’s television show Sandblaster III – The Extreme Sand Sculpting Competition
  • 2nd place at the 2014 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge, San Diego
  • 1st Place at the 2012 Sand Fest in Texas
  • 2nd Place at the 2011 Windemere Classic in Washington

Website: https://suemcgrew.com/

USSSC + DAE is cancelled.

It was our great honor to have produced this iconic event for 8 years.  USA Today had named it to the ‘Top 10 in the Nation’ and American Express called it ‘one of the top 20 seaside festivals in the world’.

Hundreds of millions of media impressions were registered worldwide and over 40,000 attended the festivities each year on the downtown San Diego embarcadero. 

We thank the Master Sand Artists from Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas who created magnificent sculptures from nothing more than sand and water, as well as the artists who work in other media, the entertainers, food providers, sponsors, media, staff, suppliers, volunteers and the Port of San Diego who made the event possible.

Should a title sponsor or new production company wish to bring it back to benefit local non-profits and the Southern California community at large, we will endeavor to help advise as long as we are able. 

For now, enjoy the website from years past.*

Thank you once more.

Joyce and Gordon Summer, Executive Producers

on behalf of Bruce, Tricia, Steve and the entire USSSC team.

This Website sculpted one grain at a time by Web Services Management.