Castles in the sand

Galveston played host to the 20th annual American Institute of Architects Sandcastle Competition this weekend. About 20,000 people showed up – luckily, none of them bullied their way through and kicked down the sculptures.

The 89 entries put anything that Houstonist tried to build with Galveston’s muddy sand to shame. Entries included a Monopoly: Houston edition, which featured local landmarks (we guess you'd use sand dollars for currency). Many of them were comical, like the alien baby shower for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

The “Golden Bucket” award went to The Design Office of Steve Neumann and Friends for their MAD magazine inspired creation "Alfred Says Sayonara," pictured above (photo courtesy of Flickr member Dreamsrey).