by Kenneth Ong
What do you do when you get called to join a competition that would take place in less than 24 hours time? That “Mission Impossible” moment happened to me last month as me and my friends signed up for the Sanük Sandcastle Competition at Chimes with of course some prodding from Chimes Specialty Store’s Renren Villena and Sanük’s brand manager Vangie Chua.
On the day of the competition, the stretch of Sales Street fronting of Chimes was closed to vehicular traffic and a huge tent with eight sandboxes filled with special man-made sand were installed. So right after lunch of hummus, eggplant parmigiana, chicken gyros and pizza at Cafe Mediterranean, me and my “24-Hour Notice” teammates, Marris Lat, Micah Santos, Joel Rodriguez, and John Belandres along with the other teams composed of university students and young professionals started hour five-hour sandcastle construction. Given that almost all of the teams have no prior sandcastle building, the energy of all eight teams were high as everyone took their respective shovels and pails and went to work.
The noon day sun was hot but thanks to Coca-Cola Bottler’s Real Leaf Iced Tea and the cheers from friends and the curious shoppers who turned out for the event, the heat was overcome and there was nary a weary soul as everyone had fun. “The essence of the Sanük Sandcastle Building Competition is really for everyone to just relax and have a good time which is the philosophy behind every Sanük footwear” beamed Vangie.
And so as 5 p.m. approached, judges Emylou Yap, Jennifer Ang, Merlen Seng, Honylet Avancena and Jason Joyce had the unenviable task of proclaiming the winners. The first prize of P20,000 in cash and Sanük prizes went to KB Builders composed of students from John Paul II College of Davao. Surprisingly, my team took home second place along with P14,000 in cash and prizes. Use Less Creations came in third and won P10,000 in cash and prizes.
So after 5 hours under then sun and having experienced my first sandcastle making competition and actually winning second place, would I ever join again? You bet! Mainly for the the feeling of “sanük” which is the Thai word for happiness and balance. My only wish is that hopefully the next time, we would be given more than a 24-hour notice. Congratulations to Chimes Specialty Store, Sanük, and Real Leaf Green Tea on a successful and spectacular event. Sanük is available at Chimes Specialty Store.
