This September, immerse yourselves in Sentosa Sandsational Fun 2017 under the sun! From 1 – 17 September, the island’s Siloso Beach will be home to Southeast Asia’s biggest sand festival, featuring a plethora of exciting activities set to delight both locla and overseas visitors. Plus, between 4 – 10 September 2017, Singapore residents will enjoy free entry into Sentosa via the Sentosa Express and Sentosa Gateway, as part of the resort island’s 45th-anniversary celebrations!
Ms Lynette Ang, Chief Marketing Officer at Sentosa Development Corporation said, “In our continuing engagement with the local community and tourists, we are constantly looking to enhance our ‘always-on’ calendar of events and build signature events that will put Singapore on the world map. Capitalising on Sentosa’s unique assets of sun, sea and sand, the sand festival is a befitting way to celebrate the island’s 45th anniversary. We are delighted to keep our gates open for all locals to come celebrate with us at The State of Fun!” 
Anchoring the three-week festival will be Sentosa Sandsation 2017, featuring more than 30 intricately-carved and larger-than-life sand sculptures of some five metres in height. Spread over 2,400 square metres of exhibition space on Siloso Beach, you and your loved ones can journey through three zones showcasing different experiences, from 10am – 9pm daily. Admission is free. 
“The local sand sculpting scene can trace its roots to Sentosa Sandsation, which made its debut in 1999. The appeal of sand sculptures has since persisted, evident in the popularity of Sands of Times, which was held to celebrate SG50 and attracted more than 80,000 visitors to Siloso Beach over four days in 2015. We are excited to bring this event back, bigger and better than ever before. By extending the exhibition to 9pm, guests will have the added visual treat of viewing the sand sculptures amid lighting effects and enjoy the pleasure of a scenic stroll by the beach in the cool evening breeze,” Ms Ang added.
Sentosa Sandsation 2017 Zones
Zone 1: Our Sandsational Singapore (Singapore, Ho Say!)
Welcoming you to the exhibition will be 15 three-dimensional sculptures inspired by Singapore’s unique blend of culture, humour, quirks and colloquialism. These intricately-carved sand artworks will depict various facets of Singaporeans’ everyday life, both past and present.
Passing through the multi-sensory exhibits marrying visuals with audio in the story-telling, you can get to discover sand works inspired by local experiences, situations and phrases such as “So Jialat!” ; “Blur like Sotong, Gabra like Zebra”, “Jiak Zua” and “So Wayang” to name a few.
You and your loved ones can also look forward to these sculptures taking on new life with augmented reality. Users of the MixGo mobile app can catch special behind-the-scenes video features; enhance their experience with simulated photo frames and filters, as well as gamification features that will provide added interactivity.
Zone 2: Sentosa International Sand Sculpting Championship
In the next zone, Sentosa will play host to 14 world-renowned sand masters from 13 nations across the world, who will be showcasing their creative sand works around the theme, ‘Imagination’. Among the renowned participants of the championship are Sudarsan Pattnaik from India, David Enguerrand from Belgium, Leonardo Ugolini from Italy, Sergio Ramirez from Spain, Borecki Wiaczeslaw from Poland, Calixto Molina from Mexico, Aleksei Shchitov from Russia, Bob Atisso from Togo, among others. 
These sand masters will pit their skills against each other from 28 – 31 August 2017, with the top three winners walking away with cash prizes totalling more than S$12,000.
Zone 3: Shifting Sand 2
Leading the team of sand sculptors for Sentosa Sandsation 2017 is JOOheng Tan, an internationally- acclaimed Singapore sand artist, whose works have been showcased in over 70 cities across more than 20 countries.
In the last zone, JOOheng will commemorate his 20th year of transforming ordinary sand into incredible artworks through a series of interactive sand art pieces. In this technique pioneered by JOOheng, you get the change to “step into” the art pieces and become part of the artwork. This showcase pays homage to his first solo exhibition held at Sentosa’s Palawan Beach back in 2010.
JOOheng commented, “Sentosa will forever hold a special place in my heart as this was the place that propelled the start of my sand sculpting career. 20 years on, I feel that it will be really meaningful to be back once again on home ground. This homecoming is made even more endearing as I am given the opportunity to curate the exhibition and bring in international talents for the showcase. I would certainly love to see this event grow in the coming years, and for more Singaporeans to be inspired to shine on the global stage of sand sculpting.”
The immersive sand work in this zone will be refreshed every week, and you are welcomed to come back for a different view each week. Visitors to Sentosa Sandsation between Mondays and Thursdays will be able to witness the master at work, while Sentosa Islander members will get the exclusive opportunity to snap a photo with the interactive sand works from Fridays – Sundays. In the final week of the exhibition, JOOheng will also translate a child’s imagination of Singapore’s future into sand sculpture. The image will be selected from Sentosa’s Children’s Drawing Competition held from 10 – 28 August in conjunction with Sentosa Sandsation.
In the final week of the exhibition, JOOheng will also translate a child’s imagination of Singapore’s future into sand sculpture. The image will be selected from Sentosa’s Children’s Drawing Competition held from 10 – 28 August in conjunction with Sentosa Sandsation.
People’s Choice Awards
As you tour the exhibition, you also get to take part in the People’s Choice Awards and pick your favourite sand sculpture by simply taking a photo with your favourite sand artwork, posting it on Instagram with the hash tags #SentosaSandsation and #SandsationalContest, while stating the reason(s) for your choice. A winner will be drawn from the entries featuring the most popular sculpture, and he/she will walk away with a 2D1N Sentosa staycation package. Results of the People’s Choice Awards will be announced after 20 September 2017.
Exciting Programming from dawn till dusk
When night falls, not only can visitors take in the sights at Sentosa Sandsation with lighting effects, you can also head over to the Merlion Plaza and be entertained by the dazzling Merlion Magic Lights. This iconic and ever-popular light and music show will feature a new neon theme starting 1 September. Be sure to catch it daily until 29 October, starting at 7.45pm, with 30-minute show intervals until 9.15pm. Two additional shows will be held on weekends, eve of public holidays and public holidays.
From 2 – 3 and 16 – 17 September, you and your family can also choose to wind down the day at The State of Fun with beach-themed films at Movies by the Beach sited at Palawan Green.
Sandsational Deals
Getting to Sentosa Sandsation 2017 will be a breeze with special Sandsational Fun Ride deals. On offer are special deals including 50% off a one-way ride on board the Segway miniPro from Beach Station to the event site, and 20% off the unlimited Cable Car Sky Pass (50% off for local residents). These tickets can be purchased online at http://store.sentosa.com.sg or onsite. 
In addition, you will also get to enjoy an additional 10% off at the event’s food kiosk, Wavehouse Sentosa and Good Old Days by flashing any of the above mentioned Sandsation Fun Ride tickets.
After soaking in the sun, sea and sand, you can cure your hunger pangs with thematic food & beverage offerings at the event’s kiosks and beachside establishments. Gelatissimo at the Beach Station, for example, will introduce a special combo deal for its “sandsational flavour of the month” – the Pineapple Carnival Gelato, from 1 – 17 September.
Elsewhere on the island, the month of September will continue to thrill with various activities including ONE°15 Marina Club’s 10th Anniversary Celebration on 10 September, The Great Food Festival at Resorts World Sentosa from 21 – 24 September, as well as the 29th Southeast Asian Beach Volleyball Championship (28 – 30 September) at Palawan Beach.
To find out more information about Sandsational Fun at Sentosa 2017, please visit www.sentosa.com.sg/sandsation or call 1800-SENTOSA (7368672).
