City of Michigan hosts a sand sculpture showdown at Singing Sands 2026

On Sunday, July 19, The City of Michigan hosted their 5th annual Singing Sands Sculpting Festival on the Indiana Dunes coastline.

Singing Sands had multiple segments, including areas to shop and eat. Closest to the entrance was an assortment of food trucks serving ice cream, burgers, tacos, and fried vegetables to hungry beachgoers. Numerous local businesses also set up shop, including jewelers, crocheters, and pastry chefs.

The main attraction of the Singing Sands Festival is the sand sculpting competition itself. Professional sand sculptors from all across the country came out to compete on Lake Michigan’s sandy dunes, working for several days to create their incredible art pieces. Sculptures were sweating under the hot summer sun, as they chiseled and carved hunks of sand, working to bring their vision into reality.

Terry Greetham, director of special events for the City of Michigan, found it important to take advantage of the city’s lakefront land to host a sand castle contest — but the idea wasn’t his initially.

“The Singing Sand Sculpting Festival started five years ago,” Greetham said. “My mom was a huge fan of the beach, and she always wondered why we didn’t have some kind of sandcastle contest. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2010, and when I took the job here five years ago, it was my goal to bring in a sand sculpting festival, kind of in her memory.”

Michigan City could not put on the Singing Sands event alone. They’ve contracted the help of The Sand Lovers, an organization dedicated to hosting sand sculpting events across the country. The Sand Lovers are part of the sand sculpting world, possessing connections and industry knowledge that their clients do not.

“We work directly with the Sand Lovers and their Event Director, Bill Knight. The way it works is, Bill and his team handle the sand, and I handle the party side, the food and the vendors,” Greetham said.

Knight has worked on numerous sand sculpting events throughout his years with the Sand Lovers, but the City of Michigan’s Singing Sands, to him, stands out above the rest.

“It’s because of the community,” Knight said. “The community involvement here is unlike any other event that we do. It’s the community coming together, all the way from the mayor down to the Parks and Recreation Department, they’re all here helping to make sure that this event is successful.”

For more Information on Michigan City, visit its website at michigancityin.gov.