As co-chairs of the Sixth Annual Sun & Sea Festival, we wanted to take a moment and thank the many people who helped in the effort to bring this free, family, fun event every year to Imperial Beach. Without our sponsors, we could not make this event happen. This year’s presenting sponsors were: Port of San Diego, City of Imperial Beach, County of San Diego, Tillamook Cheese and California American Water. Our Sand Castle Enthusiast Sponsors were: Cox Communications and SDG&E. The Parade sponsor was North Island Credit Union. The Stage Sponsor was Boca Rio Ink. The Friends of Sun & Sea sponsors were: Grocery Outlet Imperial Beach Chamber of Commerce, IB Resort, Pier South, AT&T, Mike Hess Brewing, EDCO, Imperial Beach Brigantine, Power Crunch Bars, Home Depot, El Tapatio and the Eagle & Times.
The vendors and community supporters were many but our thanks go to: Bud and Vonda Webb, Nakawatase & Kaminsky, CPA’s, Pacific Realty, Nathaniel Adams, Hector Flores, Sunshine Mermaids, Inc, Charles Miner, Gilbert Murphy, Carl Verbanic, Georgette Cash, Tara Willis, Henna San Diego, Tramy Tran, James Martinez, Jin Yao, Nathaniel Adams, Martha Elena Lopez, Rani Benskin, Vicki Primavera, Susan Twohy, Kyle Westover, Mark Groveman, Christopher Noxon, Monica Rodriguez, Yvonne Sandza, Victor Ledesma, Julia Ledesma, Peter Hengst, Anabel Martinez, Tho Nguyen, Vanessa Moran, Plum Blossom Apothecary, Shi Chaoying, Lisa Kolar, Deidre Puaoi, Michelle Burkholder, Cindy Dykstra, CML SD LLC, Grim Ventures, Jasper and Hide, Adrian Vargas, Tropical Wood Expressions, Enrique Devine, J Alisha Wernig, Raunaq Rajpal, Jessica Valdez, Rameeza Mohamed Haniffa, Mallory Quattrocchi, Jason Haller, Armando Lopez, Sharmane Estolano, Martin Brandt, Patcharin Kurakanok, Robert Miller, Bill Sexton, Michael Schneider, Maritza Garcia, Charles Garrison, Dorothy McDonald, Massah Chatton, Larisa Medina, Emiliano Perez, Shaun Ornelas, Dina Torres, Melody Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, Larisa Medina, Ifteay Moteay, CMaxX 8 Corp, Nichoel Adams Dean, Massah Chatton, Rodolfo Armienta, Jessica van der Stad, Gretchen Palafox, Born Fresh Daily Packaging, LLC., Lori Bradburn and Jose Calderon.
The main event of this amazing festival are the sand castle artists and their teams. To the Master San Carvers: San Diego Sand Castles, Sand Castle Man, Sandy Tales, IB Posse, Sandstorm, Sand Squirrels, Chris Crosson and the Sandy Collaborators – we thank you! Thanks to the Family/Open teams of Sculpintures, IB Posse Family, Guardians of the Sandlot, Called to Sand and Coastal Carvers. And a huge thank you to the Imperial Beach Optimist Club who sponsor the Kids n’ Kastles competition which featured 20 teams this year. Congratulations to everyone who participated. You made the event a special day for so many people.
Finally, we would like to thank our fellow committee members; Angel Stancer, Anne Pilgrim (and her hundreds of volunteers), Cody Callarman, Eric Syverson, Athena Hohenberg, Karl Bradley and his team of judges, Mike Simms, Mariko Nakawatase, Nellie Hazel and Tessa Lero. Thanks to event producer: San Diego Event Professionals, and publicity/media Julie Walke and website Abel Rodriguez. Thanks also to everyone who participated in the parade, Paul Spear at Dig IB and all the City staff that helped us out.
If we have missed mentioning you in person, know that we thank you from our hearts!
P.S. See you next year on July 18 when our parade theme will be Beach Blanket Bingo!