Building bonds, sand castles

Alicia Robinson

Dozens of children found room on a crowded beach Saturday to build a

multitude of sandy architectural creations.

A day at the Corona del Mar State Beach organized by Big Brothers

Big Sisters of Orange County featured the group’s third annual

sandcastle contest, with about 150 children and adults turning out

for the event. Newport Beach real estate investment firm CWS Capital

Partners sponsored the event, providing shovels, sand pails and

prizes for the winners and volunteers.

The sandcastle-building teams were a mixture of long-term pairings

of a big brother or a big sister and a child, or a child on the

waiting list, who got a big brother or a big sister for the day.

The spirit of invention ran rampant in the competition, with one

castle surrounded by the form of a giant snake biting its own tail,

and others with varying numbers of towers and bridges. Moats, of

course, were a popular feature.

One team had a special reason for their moat. Prince Legree, 57,

of Placentia, was helping Hunter Martinez, 9, of Anaheim, and Austin

Billins, 10, of Fullerton, build a castle, with a pyramid at the

base, surrounded by a deep moat.

“In case the waves come, it would fill the moat before knocking

our castle down,” Legree said.

They had to change their castle design a bit because, though the

beach offered plenty of sand, other materials seemed to be in short

supply.

“I cannot find shells anywhere!” Martinez lamented after a search

along the shore. He had to settle for a few pieces of seaweed to

decorate the castle.

But Martinez wasn’t discouraged. “Actually it’s the best castle

I’ve ever built,” he said.

Fernanda Soliz, 15, of Tustin, and her big sister for the day made

a mermaid with seaweed hair who was wearing sunglasses and holding a

can of Coke in her hand.

In addition to the sandcastle contest, Soliz said she’s gone ice

skating, to the movies and to Disneyland with the Big Sisters

program.

“I like it a lot. It’s fun,” she said.

Judges considered the castles for their originality, use of beach

materials, engineering skill, the effort that went into them and

other categories.

“[There’s] a lot of interesting stuff,” judge Zach Sherwood said.

“Everyone’s taking a different approach.”

The beach day is a good example of the goal of Big Brothers Big

Sisters: to offer young people fun activities with adults who want to

help out by volunteering.

“It’s such an awesome experience for the child, but the volunteer

says it’s a much better experience for them,” said Christy Breen,

public relations coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange

County.

Legree said he likes working with children, and he’s meeting an

important need by acting as a role model.

“I don’t think there’s a better place we can put our time than

working with young people, especially with all the challenges they

face today,” he said.

For information on Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, call

(714) 544-7773 or visit https://www.bigbrooc.org.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.