NAWILIWILI — Jeff Haigh of Auburn, Calif., said he was in the process of changing rooms, so he didn’t have an opportunity to bring the tools he needed Saturday afternoon. While several hundred people crowded Kalapaki Beach to catch a
NAWILIWILI — Jeff Haigh of Auburn, Calif., said he was in the process of changing rooms, so he didn’t have an opportunity to bring the tools he needed Saturday afternoon.
While several hundred people crowded Kalapaki Beach to catch a glimpse of the Hawaiian Santa who arrived on a double-hulled canoe, Haigh and another Jeff Peterson of Kalaheo, worked quietly to put finishing touches on their respective works of holiday-inspired sand art.
“You’ve been ‘discovered,’” a spectator told Peterson, who wielded a mason’s trowel to cut edges on his developing sand castle.
Peterson, the originator of the Hanalei sand castle contest held later in the year, said Hanalei has better sand for building sand sculptures, and that is why he holds the contest out on the North Shore.
But he creates sand pieces wherever he can, using the Kalapaki sand to work his magic.
“The Kalapaki Beach sand doesn’t hold the water as well as Hanalei, so you can’t build items too tall,” Peterson said as he wielded a table knife to cut stairs on a ramp up the castle wall.
Haigh said he would have liked to have created something more intricate, but because they were in the process of a room change at the Marriott Kaua‘i Resort and Beach Club, could only do the “Mele Kalikimaka” sign.
That did not stop people from taking photos. Several groups posed against the backdrop of Kalapaki Bay with the sign in front.
“I did one of a man-eating dragon and used Mele, who works at the Marriott beachside bar, as a subject a few days ago,” Haigh said. “That drew a lot of attention, and the sculpture lasted for a few days.”
Haigh said they’ve been coming to Kaua‘i since 1982 and have always worked with the sand while here. His pieces have appeared not only in Nawiliwili, but at several other beaches on Kaua‘i.
He said one of the best things about sand art is how it affects other people. One little boy stopped to watch him work on the “Mele Kalikimaka” piece and left singing the popular Hawaiian tune, he said.
“This time, we’re staying for about 30 days so there’s more time to work,” he said. “I think maybe the next piece will be the Monkees, but instead of the usual cast, we’ll use monk seals since one of the Marriott employees said she likes monk seals.”
His wife Cindy advised him not to forget to give the monk seals ‘ukulele.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
