For more than two decades in the first part of June, Houston area architects, designers, engineers and contractors have taken their tools to East Beach in Galveston for one of the world's largest amateur sandcastle competitions, sponsored by the Houston Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Teams stretch along the beach meticulously sculpting their sand piles and working non-stop for five hours to win the Golden Bucket Award. The sandcastles are judged on originality of concept, artistic execution of the concept, technical difficulty, carving technique and utilization of the site.

In addition to the Golden Bucket, awards are given in eight different themed categories as well as for best team T-shirt design, best team signage, best costume and public favorite. This year's theme categories are That's Entertainment, Let the Games Begin, Stars and Stripes, Most Complex, Best Traditional, Best Architectural, Most Hilarious and Most Lifelike/Realistic.

Schedule:
10 a.m.-3 p.m., SandCastle Building
3-4:30 p.m., SandCastle Judging
4:30-5:00 p.m., Awards Ceremony