DNC Sand Sculpture at Ritz-Carlton Scrapped

Charlotte Observer ^ | August 30, 2012 | April Bethea

[Rona Badger]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. A planned sand sculpture that was set to go in front of The Ritz-Carlton in uptown Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention is no longer being built, according to the hotel.

In a news release, organizers said the sculpture won’t be built “in order to ensure optimal security at that location.” The sculpture was supposed to be formally revealed at an event Friday, but that has now also been cancelled.

Earlier this week, Dan Belcher with Sandtastic told NewsChannel 36 that the sculpture was to include a carving of the DNC logo, stars and strips and a message saying “Welcome to Charlotte.”

Ritz-Carlton officials also planned to use floodlights to display red, white and blue lights at various locations of the hotel during the DNC. The display will still go on, the hotel said, and begin at 8 p.m. Friday.

[Rona Badger]

The original PR from the Ritz-Carlton said today (August 31) was the day when they would, "roll out the ultimate welcome mat for DNC guests, as it unveils and illuminates a one-of-a-kind 12-ton “Welcome to Charlotte” sand sculpture in its front drive area.

The massive sculpture has been under construction for several weeks, and it will be brilliantly uplit for visitors to the city, throughout the dates of the Democratic National Convention.

Located at 201 East Trade Street next door to Time Warner Arena, The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte is the only LEED® Gold-certified hotel for The Ritz-Carlton brand, and its highly visible front drive is host not only to the new sand sculpture, but also to one of the few front-drive electric vehicle charging stations in the luxury hotel sector."

Oh well. Heavy rain forecast for next week might have been a factor.

[driftdiver]

Their planning seems to be really flexible lately

[DBrow]

The possible attack of The Sandman no doubt was driving the security team mad.

[Norm Lenhart]

They didn’t build that... ;)

[thingumbob]

Notice to DNC...God is sending a message!

That wet stuff that will be coming down on your head is called Rain.....

[Rona Badger]

That’s funny. Maybe the anticipated line up to access the electric charging stations was so enormous that the sand could have been ignited by the sparks?

[Joe 6-pack]

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

[mylife]

Hilarious!

Building legacy on sand.

[Rona Badger]

Exactly! Somebody else made that happen.

[Nervous Tick]

Bummer.

What were they gonna try to sculpt? An empty beach?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Their planning seems to be really flexible lately

ROFL :^D

[milagro]

Or chair?

[Deb]

“...red, white and blue...” Huh? I thought the Obama colors were black and red.

[buffaloguy]

As sandcastles go, that is a small one and it probably is just a circle with a rainbow in it. About two hours work.

[Hardraade]

Needs more Arabs. And more cow... err.. camel bell.

[mware]

Well they could make a giant empty chair as a welcoming feature.

[Rona Badger]

Two sand hauling trucks one that holds 12 tons and one that holds 15 tons make a total of 20 trips to haul 273 tons of sand. How many trips does each truck make?

[EDINVA]

Sand is actually the PERFECT metaphor for Obama and the DNC. And they recognized it as such, thus the end of this sculpture. Nothing to do with security.

[Rona Badger]

Sand is actually the PERFECT metaphor for Obama and the DNC. It doesn't get much better, you are right. This was just too hard to resist posting. Thanks to all for the laughs today!

[Sarah Barracuda]

That wet stuff that will be coming down on your head is called Rain.....

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Actually for the Occupy Bowel Street protestors its called a bath, something they haven’t had in years