Grab your buckets and head to the beach: LEAP’s iconic Sandcastle Classic is back for its 44th year! On Saturday, October 24, 2026, Ocean Beach will transform into a giant open-air art studio as teams of architects, engineers, designers, and contractors join forces with local elementary school students to sculpt the most spectacular sand creations Northern California has ever seen.
Since 1983, the Sandcastle Classic — the region’s largest sandcastle competition — has drawn more than 5,000 visitors to San Francisco’s shoreline for a day of creativity, community, and jaw-dropping sandy masterpieces. And the best part? Every grain of sand serves a beautiful cause: the event is a nonprofit fundraiser for LEAP Arts in Education, the 501(c)(3) organization that has brought professional teaching artists into Bay Area classrooms since 1979. Each year, LEAP’s programs in music, dance, theatre, creative writing, visual arts, and architecture reach more than 8,000 students across 30+ elementary schools.
This year’s edition is co-presented with Youth Art Exchange, the San Francisco community arts hub that has offered free, high-quality arts programming to public high school students for more than two decades. So mark your calendar, bring the family, and come cheer on the teams as they turn Ocean Beach into a wonderland of sand art — all for the love of arts education.
Photo: LEAP Sandcastle Classic
