Sudarsan Pattnaik, an internationally acclaimed Indian sand artist has won three medals in the North American sand sculpting competition at Virginia Beach in the United States as part of the Neptune Festival 2010 celebrating its 37th anniversary. Sudarshan Patnaik was born in the coastal town of Puri, Orissa.
Pattnaik, the first sand artist from India to win this championship in US, created a sand sculpture of Neptune giving the message ‘Save the Sea from Oil Spill’. He was presented the medals Saturday in a grand prize distribution ceremony by ‘King of Neptune’ Bruce L. Thompson.
The sand sculpture championship was held from 22nd September to 24th September and featured 11 sculptors from around the world including Pattnaik from Puri, Orissa. He won medals for Neptune”s Choice, Sculptor”s Choice and placed 5th overall.
"I am very happy to have won 3 medals for India in a Championship in solo category. This is first time I have won three medals in a single Championship," he said.
Pattanaik is the first Sand Artist from India who won this Championship in US. He has participated in more than 42 sand sculpture championships around the world and won several prizes, and he is also running a school to teach sand sculptures in eastern part India in Orissa.
This year the sand sculpting competition on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront was a special feature of the Neptune Festival started by the Virginia Beach Chamber of Commerce to highlight the heritage of the beach.
The 32 blocks of boardwalks catering to the Neptune Festival 2010 also offered number of concerts along with arts and crafts exhibitions and an extravagant fireworks display. Keeping in view the popularity of the Neptune Festival, it is ranked among the top 100 festivals on the East Coast.
