Grains of glory: Family sandcastle showdown unites all ages on Balboa Island
The Ruby Avenue beach on North Bayfront was swarming with worker bees vigorously building sand-sculptures within the designated time frame.
Participating families this year were a mix of locals and visitors, with a range of ages and personalities.
'There are all different types of kids, from athletic to artistic, some with high energy some with low energy,' said Stephanie Crosson, who helped her dad, Chris Crosson, pull the contest together.
'They're all fired up and ready to express themselves in different ways,' she said of the competitors.
The annual event is a joint effort between the senior Crosson, founder of Sand Castle Kit, and the Balboa Island Improvement Assn., which helps sponsor it. Crosson provides all of the supplies required to build a sandcastle sculpture to each of the participants and Marine Avenue merchants donate snacks and prizes.
The O'Brien family, which have emerged as champions in the same contest before, captured first place this year with their sculpture titled 'Giant Fish. 'They and the three other top winners received prizes from SandCastleKit.com, as well as from three local merchants — the Golden Rabbit, Balboa Island Baking Co. and Balboa Candy.
According to B.I.I.A. president, Dan Abbott one of the most challenge aspects of setting up for the competition is to clear enough space on the beach to make room it.
'[Volunteers] come out here really early in the morning,' said Abbott. 'And it's posted that the contest is coming.'
According to Chris Crosson, everyone walked away with something for their efforts — each participant received a Hippo cookie donated by Dad's Donuts. The honorable mentions received a SandCastleKit.com tool pouch along with their cookie.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Yahoo
Baby Hippo's Stubborn Refusal To Go Inside Is the Ultimate Toddler Moment
Baby Hippo's Stubborn Refusal To Go Inside Is the Ultimate Toddler Moment originally appeared on PetHelpful. As any pet parent, dog sitter, and vet tech knows, attitude comes in all shapes and sizes. Whether it's an angry house cat, a sassy squirrel, or a massive mad bull, animals' emotions can be just as prominent and distinct as humans'. Zookeepers know this, too! Training and raising wild animals can come with their fair share of challenges, including stubborn tantrums like this one that the @tanganyikawildlifepark shared on July 27. At the Kansas Zoo, a baby hippo named Mars gave his handler a run for her money when it was time to wind down for the day. He wasn't ready to go inside yet, and he had no qualms letting her know it! Talk about a toddler tantrum! Mars was not about to go inside without a fight, regardless of what her handler did. Whether she put him in the right direction, tempted him with a game of tag, or gently herded him toward the door, the baby animal wasn't having it. "That's the most adorable spicy potato I've ever seen!" one commenter gushed. Isn't he irresistible? Even though he's acting like a naughty little kid, he's also such a baby when his wildlife handler is Mars's latest mood may be, this 'ungovernable' zoo animal has pet parents and moms feeling seen. One mama wrote, "My toddler does that at bedtime too. Glad to know I'm not the only one dealing with this." LOL! Many pets are also experts at turning into dead weight when it's time to go somewhere they're not excited to be, but Mars takes the cake when it comes to stubbornness. Mars the Baby Hippo This adorable harbinger of chaos was born at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in late June to proud parents Posy and Pluto. Mars (whose name was likely inspired by his dad's), weighed only 13 pounds at birth, but as an adult pygmy hippopotamus, he'll weigh somewhere between 300 and 700 pounds! Luckily for the zookeepers, Mars is still small enough to be easily handled. When he's an adult, though, his stubbornness is going to be so much harder to control! Thankfully, that can be left as a problem for another day. Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips. Baby Hippo's Stubborn Refusal To Go Inside Is the Ultimate Toddler Moment first appeared on PetHelpful on Aug 1, 2025 This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
29-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Grains of glory: Family sandcastle showdown unites all ages on Balboa Island
While some families may have still been lingering at their breakfast table Saturday morning, others were digging up some fun at the annual Balboa Island Family Sandcastle Contest, a two-hour competition that began at 8:30 a.m. The Ruby Avenue beach on North Bayfront was swarming with worker bees vigorously building sand-sculptures within the designated time frame. Participating families this year were a mix of locals and visitors, with a range of ages and personalities. 'There are all different types of kids, from athletic to artistic, some with high energy some with low energy,' said Stephanie Crosson, who helped her dad, Chris Crosson, pull the contest together. 'They're all fired up and ready to express themselves in different ways,' she said of the competitors. The annual event is a joint effort between the senior Crosson, founder of Sand Castle Kit, and the Balboa Island Improvement Assn., which helps sponsor it. Crosson provides all of the supplies required to build a sandcastle sculpture to each of the participants and Marine Avenue merchants donate snacks and prizes. The O'Brien family, which have emerged as champions in the same contest before, captured first place this year with their sculpture titled 'Giant Fish. 'They and the three other top winners received prizes from as well as from three local merchants — the Golden Rabbit, Balboa Island Baking Co. and Balboa Candy. According to B.I.I.A. president, Dan Abbott one of the most challenge aspects of setting up for the competition is to clear enough space on the beach to make room it. '[Volunteers] come out here really early in the morning,' said Abbott. 'And it's posted that the contest is coming.' According to Chris Crosson, everyone walked away with something for their efforts — each participant received a Hippo cookie donated by Dad's Donuts. The honorable mentions received a tool pouch along with their cookie.
Eater
04-06-2025
- Eater
Southern-Leaning American Bistro Cannonball Dives Into South Pasadena
One of northeast Los Angeles's most charming neighborhoods, South Pasadena, welcomed Cannonball on May 2, a new restaurant from Hippo chef Matt Molina and operating partner Joe Capella. The sprawling multi-floor space, previously occupied by Piccolo, has original brick walls, an extensive vintage wine list, cocktails, and farmers-market-derived seasonal produce. It's potentially the most exciting new restaurant to open in the area in a few years (its most recent was 2023's debut of Katsu Jin on Fair Oaks). With Molina and Capella steering the ship, South Pasadena has a grown-up restaurant for drinks and classic American dishes, coupled with reasonable prices. Molina, who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Pacific of 2012 for his work at Osteria Mozza, has had a strong run with Capella at Arts District's Everson Royce Bar (opened in 2015), which is also co-founded and co-owned by Randy Clement and April Langford (Good Neighbor Bar, Silver Lake Wine). The foursome opened Hippo in Highland Park and Triple Beam alongside Nancy Silverton in 2018, cementing their place in northeast LA's dining scene. Molina's relationships with farmers at the South Pasadena Farmers Market, a main source for Hippo's produce, led him and Capella to check out the former Piccolo. The former Venice-based Italian restaurant had expanded to Mission Street in 2022 but closed just a year later in spring 2023 (it still operates in Santa Monica). Cannonball is Capella and Molina's first collaboration, opened without involvement from Clement, Langford, and Silverton. 'Hippo was in a good spot and we wanted to do something in this neighborhood [South Pasadena,' says Molina. 'I grew up in SGV and first heard about it when our friend Steven Arroyo opened something here. He was always ahead of the game. It's so charming here, but a lot of people in Northeast LA don't know about it, or the farmers market.' After a career spent in Hollywood and Mid-City at Osteria Mozza and Campanile, Molina has become acclimated to this part of town. Molina sees a similarity to New York City restaurateurs [like Gabe Stulman], who open multiple concepts in a particular neighborhood to serve a similar audience. Like Everson Royce Bar, Molina anchors the menu with his signature flaky biscuits with honey butter and a single-patty burger made with ground chuck and Tillamook cheddar. Starters include shaved celery salad with medjool dates, roasted carrots with cumin vinaigrette, and fideos with clams, chorizo, and saffron. Most starters range $12 to $24, bucking the trend of inflationary prices that seem to affect most new LA restaurants. A short list of six mains includes the burger with fries for $23, and extends to barbecue pork loin with Anson Mills polenta, grilled prawns, or grilled New York steak with pommes aligot. An olive cake with a side of crème fraiche is the sole dessert. Molina says the menu will not feature pasta during its opening phase, but he might add some in the future. Beverages at Cannonball are another strong suit, with Joe Capella's extensive wine and spirits knowledge on full display. Capella priced the wines to drink now (he would like the entire inventory to turn over every six months), with glasses between $14 and $17, and a long bottle list with prices that are often lower than online retail. He was inspired by places he's visited in Stockholm and Japan that price wine and spirits at an accessible level and allow enthusiasts to actually 'taste the fruits' of often labor-intensive curation. 'We're not trying to profit disproportionately just because it's rare and in demand,' Capella told Eater over email. There are plenty of wines priced between the high-$30s and mid-$40s, alongside higher-end bottles for those looking to ball out. Cocktails come from a longtime relationship with Varnish co-founder Eric Alperin, who advised on the drinks and helped install lead bartender Wolfgang Alexander at Cannonball. Drinks reflect the Milk & Honey school of bartenders with playful takes on classics like the Raymond Hill (Manhattan) using bourbon, amaro lucano, Pedro Ximénez sherry, and mole. Fettle Design helped preserve the building's main interior, hoping to conjure a New York, East Coast, and London feel that stands in contrast to places like Hippo. Capella and Fettle saw the moody space working with a darker color palette; tasteful landscape art, vintage lighting, indoor plants, and pops of old-timey wallpaper complete the look. A more cheerful patio with French cafe-style chairs and greenery works well as an al fresco summer dinner. Eventually, service will expand daily to later hours and a daytime menu on weekends (no weekday lunch, though). With two industry veterans at the helm and a versatile, classic ambience — plus the very approachable food — Cannonball has brightened South Pasadena's dining scene in a big way. Cannonball is open Thursday to Monday from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with expanded hours forthcoming; it's located at 1010 Mission Street, South Pasadena, CA, 91030. Reservations are available on Resy . Sign up for our newsletter.
