For more than two decades, 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. On the day of the event, the teams stretch along the beach, meticulously sculpt their sand piles and work nonstop for five hours, their eyes and shovels set on winning the prestigious Golden Bucket Award.

The sandcastles are rated 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.