Staff Writer

 With spray bottles and shovels in hand, Ben and Matt Klein were all business as they carved a castle from the shore of Ocean Park.

For the past three years, the twins from New Hampshire have turned out with their family for the annual Ocean Park Family Sand Sculpture Competition. This year, they worked with family members to create a towering castle to fit the theme “Castles by the Sea.” More than 30 teams participated in the event Sunday afternoon.

As crowds wondered slowly past their pile of sand Sunday afternoon, Ben and Matt Klein, 7, used spray bottles to dampen the sand as their father, Tim, helped carve the “Transformer” castle.

“It has a monster face on one side and a castle on the other side,” Ben Klein said. “You get to build stuff and you get to do scary and magical stuff. And you get to do it with your family, so it’s nice.”

His grandmother, Sue McCann, said the family enjoys the contest because it is fun to spend an afternoon on the beach together. Ben and Matt Klein even brought photos of their castle from last year’s event to school to show their class, she said.

“It’s great bonding and the kids talk about it all year long,” she said. “We think about it all year long.”

A few yards down the beach, Susan Davis of Ocean Park watched as the “Cranshaw Tribe” team sculpted a castle they planned to decorate with shells, lobster traps and a blue ocean. The team was named for her grandfather, who bought the family cottage in Ocean Park 100 years ago.

Davis said her family made their first attempt at a giant sculpture last year. This year, three generations worked side by side to create “a beautiful high castle,” she said.

“It’s our Ocean Park castle,” she said.

For the Kouloufakos and Strachan families of Ottawa, Canada, the contest was a chance to recreate a castle they saw while on vacation in Denmark last year. Kendra Kouloufakos said her extended family enjoyed spending the afternoon carving the Kronborg Castle.

The Funkhouser family of Princeton, N.J., used a photo printed from a computer as a guide for the Lord of the Rings castle they spent nearly two hours creating. Martha Funkhouser watched as her husband, Tom, 17-year-old sons Carter and Cody, and 16-year-old daughter Paige used tools to carve multiple layers from their 3-foot pile of sand.

Funkhouser said her family has participated in the contest since her children were young.

“It’s the fun and the spirit of it that we like,” she said.

Cody Funkhouser said he has fun spending the afternoon on the beach. He said choosing the Lord of the Rings castle as inspiration was easy.

“It’s just a great trilogy, so we felt compelled to do it,” he said.

Nearby, 11-year-old Rae Gainey worked with her twin, Helen, and other family members to create a castle that included an entrance tower, moat and dragon.

“It’s definitely fun,” she said.

For the members of Team Cindy, the sand sculpture contest was a chance to gather as a family to remember Cindy Ryan, who died last year. Pam Chapman said the team included multiple generations of cousins and “cousins of cousins.” With nearly 20 people sculpting towers and smoothing surfaces, they made quick work of creating Hogwarts from Harry Potter, Cindy’s favorite books.

While the contest attracted summer residents and visitors, it also drew locals who couldn’t resist the opportunity to create a whimsical design. Sara Forgioni of Saco, who won second place last year, worked with her sister, Lisa McLellan, and nephew Miles McLellan to create a colorful dream cottage.

“I love it,” said 10-year-old Miles as he smoothed sand around the castle’s towers. “It really, really fun. You get to use your imagination and come up with cool designs.”