A few days after the thousands of the festival’s visitors have left, the sculptures remain for locals to enjoy on a leisurely stroll along the historic beach.
Alexis Correa, from Revere, said her mom went to the festival but Correa opted to wait out the crowds.
“They love it,” Correa said of her family’s annual visits to the festival. “They come every year but it’s so crowded! Everybody comes down here.”
Paul Revere, the city’s namesake, is carved into the centerpiece of the festival that celebrated the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
How long they stand on the beach is a bit up to Mother Nature.
They remain up for as long as the wind and rain cooperate, said Adrienne Maguire, a board member of the Revere Beach Partnership, which runs the festival.
“We keep them up as long as we can, as long as they look good and they’re not a danger to anyone,” Maguire said. “If people start climbing on them, or they’ve been destroyed from the weather, then we knock them down.”
The sand, which is trucked in from a quarry in New Hampshire, is safe to be mixed into the beach when the sculptures break down, she said.
Until then, there’s still time to admire the sandy creations of summer.
Kids stand on the curb, getting as close as they can while parents snap pictures.
A couple takes their time walking under the melting sun, reading the title of each sculpture to decipher its meaning.
A group of friends chat about their favorite piece and wonder how on earth the sculpture is still standing.
“I don’t understand how they did it. I’ve made sand castles my whole life and they’ve never gotten that high,” Virginia Adams, from Somerville, said.
Adams, who went to the beach with Correa, points to the first-place-winning sculpture “Delicate Balance,” by Abe Waterman.
Delicate Balance claimed the top prize at last weekend’s festival.Revere Beach Partnership/Facebook
The piece shows a man’s head on one side, and on the other, a girl blowing a dandelion into the man’s brain.
Correa, who hadn’t noticed this, runs over to take another look.
Wanda Antonucci, from Malden, is trying to understand the meaning of “I see you (can you see yourself?).”
The sculpture, which placed third in the competition, was created by Hanneke Supply. It features a girl gazing at a woman inside of an eye who is holding a baby.
Wanda thinks the sculpture is about life and death. Her son, Kenny Antonucci, thinks it’s a mother’s memory about her infant child.
“It was touching, looking at that,” Wanda said.
“I See You (can you see yourself?) draws many to ponder its meaning.Revere Beach Partnership
Supply, who participated in previous competitions, often draws on her own emotions to create a sculpture.
From her home in The Netherlands, Supply said this year’s sculpture was about trying to be seen by your mother, but really having the strength to see yourself.
“You have the eye with the mother and child, which is the way to see yourself through the perspective of trying to find the love of your mother, but really [you’re looking at] the love of yourself,” Supply said in a phone interview.
Ninety-two-year-old Wanda Antonucci, recalls the history of Revere Beach, with its amusement rides and dance halls.
Now, she comes to the beach every year for its sand sculptures but Revere still feels familiar to her.
She gestures to the sculpture titled “Deep Sleep,” and laughs saying it looks like her when she’s trying to fall asleep.
Deep Sleep by artist Slavian Borecki of Poland.Revere Beach Partnership/Facebook page
Jayce Ortiz, from Salem, is fond of the way the sculptures “Inner Prison” and “I want to break free” make her feel.
“I’m on that journey myself,” Ortiz said. “It’s pretty deep and it’s pretty accurate to how it is today.”
Ortiz and her family typically attend the festival every year, but prior commitments made it so them miss this year’s festivities.
Still, they’re happy they were able to catch the sculptures before they were gone.
Randy Boyd, from Peabody, stopped by on his way home from his job in Boston, to see the sculptures.
“Before I got back on the train I said, I got to go over there and take some pictures,” Boyd said.
Camille Bugayong can be reached at camille.bugayong@globe.com.