As a beach lover, I’m fascinated by the various types of sand that you can find at beaches around the world. We’ve been to the red sand in Santorini and the pink sand in Bermuda, but my favorite is the famous sugar sand located in Clearwater, Florida.
If you’ve been to Clearwater, I’m sure you agree – the sand is really that beautiful! Guests visiting Clearwater Beach in the spring will want to check out the Sugar Sand Festival, which takes place on the famous Pier 60. Learn more about the Clearwater Sugar Sand Festival below.
This post contains affiliate links. A purchase/click through one of these links may result in a commission paid to us at no additional cost to you. We paid for our admission fee to the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival.
All About The Clearwater Beach Sugar Sand Festival
We were visiting Clearwater Beach, Florida for spring break, and were staying adjacent to Pier 60 at the Hilton Clearwater Beach. First thing in the morning on one of our vacation days, we headed over to the pier to experience the festival for ourselves. We had a wonderful time – I’d recommend visiting if you are nearby during the festival.
Taking place for several weeks in March/April (from March 29-April 14, 2024), the festival features several family-friendly activities. Some are offered at no cost, while others have an admission fee.
As you head into the pier, you’ll find a small Ferris wheel, which would be perfect for little ones. Individual tickets are available for admission. As you head toward the festival, you’ll see buskers and vendors, including many craft vendors located on the actual pier tucked under colorful rainbow umbrellas.
There are also some play zones and inflatables. These are available at a separate cost and include inflatable water slides, bungee trampolines, bounce houses, and aqua balls. You don’t have to pay the entrance fee for the sugar sand tent exhibit – you can just purchase these tickets individually.
Once you enter the festival grounds on the sand, you’ll see food vendors. Our favorites included the booth selling deep-fried Oreos and the ice pops. While we were there first thing in the morning, you could easily get a meal from these vendors if visiting during mealtime.
Continue walking toward the main tent, and you can get in line to purchase tickets for the large 21,000-square-foot tent with the sand sculptures (called the Sugar Sand Walk exhibit). I’d recommend arriving early and on a weekday for the shortest lines. We got there around opening on a Monday and didn’t wait too long. Credit cards are accepted.
Tickets to the sand sculptures can be purchased online as well and can be a great way to skip the line. This way, you can bypass the desk to purchase tickets and go right into the Fast Lane. Access to the Baystar VIP Lounge is also available online. Tickets also include a complimentary photo.
Once we paid during our visit, we headed into the main tent. There we were able to see all of the sand sculpting works of art. Themes vary per year.
While the majority of the sand sculptures are done in advance of opening, they do leave a bit unfinished. That way, you can watch some of the work as it’s being done. Sculptors don’t use molds and instead sculpt by hand.
You can take your time as you walk around the tent, and there are various employees located throughout the walk to answer any questions you may have. As we walked around, we took pictures and even saw one of the sculptors working.
As we finished going through the tent, we were able to take a group photo in front of a sculpture. A printed copy of this photo is offered free of cost as you exit the tent. It’s completely free, although there are other items to purchase along with the photo (the personalized photo book seemed to be popular when we picked up our picture).
There are also commemorative items for purchase as part of the festival including tee shirts, hats, and ornaments. I couldn’t leave without picking up a tee shirt.
In addition to the sculptures, there are other family-friendly activities as part of the festival. These include free live music, fireworks (every Saturday during the festival, weather permitting), movies, a cornhole tournament, sand sculpting classes, sand sculpture demonstrations, and so much more.
The festival also offers a VIP Lounge that is available at an additional fee. This ticket includes VIP admission to the tent, as well as a VIP lounge with great views of the sunset, seating, a bar area, drink tickets, an official tee-shirt, and appetizers.
The Clearwater Beach Sugar Sand Festival runs in conjunction with the Sunsets at Pier 60 daily festival. This festival runs daily 2 hours before and 2 hours after sunset.
Wondering about the hours of the Clearwater Sand Festival? It runs 10 am-9 pm Sunday through Thursday, and 10 am to 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Planning to visit the Clearwater Beach Sugar Sand Festival? You’ll probably want to stay on Clearwater Beach, so you can easily walk right over to the pier. Here are some hotels within walking distance that you may consider:
Additional Resources: Want to read more Gulf Coast travel tips and reviews? Click to read our post with destination recommendations, ideas on what things to do, hotel reviews, and more.
