If you have an ounce of energy after a week of partying in you best Homer Simpson costume, hit Crandon Park Beach Sunday morning, November 1 for the kick off of the Third Annual Digital Drafting System’s “SandBlast Architectural Sculpture Competition.” Light years away from your childhood attempts to spend a beach day digging your way to China, this juried event pits teams of South Florida architects and designers against one another in building their ideal dreamscape on a designated patch of Key Biscayne sand.

Sandcastles have captured our imagination for years and the craftsmen at some of South Florida’s top design shops will use water, sand and biodegradable, non-poluting decorative elements to sculpt their entries for this year’s event. Using wood and plastic tools plus buckets filled with water, teams have just three hours to complete their projects and clear the design sites before the judges can rate their work at 3:30pm.

Guests are welcome to watch the entire building process or simply show up for judging at the Crandon Park Beach Shelter #8. The SandBlast kicks off a month of activities that comprise “Celebrate Architecture + Design 2009.” We will keep you updated on this month’s exciting events as they are announced.

Crandon Park Beach is located at the north east end of Key Biscayne, 4000 Crandon Boulevard. The SandBlast starts Sunday November 1 at noon with judging and prizes awarded at 3:30pm. Teams of any size must be members of architectural or design firms who have registered in advance at aiamiami.com