If you get one walk through the Siesta Key Crystal Classic this year, do you want to see sculptors pulling a figure out of a pile of sand, or the finished piece lit up after dark?
The question matters because of how the ticket works. The 2026 festival runs Friday, November 13 through Monday, November 16 at Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road. Each general admission ticket is good for one scan on any of those days. The sculptures on the sand look different every day, so you're choosing which stage of the work you'll see.
The work starts before the gates open
According to the festival's official guide, sculptors start with fresh piles of sand on Thursday morning. They carve for eight hours a day Thursday through Saturday and get four final hours on Sunday. Public hours don't begin until Friday at 10 a.m., so the first day of carving, Thursday, November 12, happens before ticket holders arrive.
That schedule shapes the whole weekend. By the time you walk in Friday, the sculptors have already had a full day of carving. By Sunday afternoon they're done, and by Monday most of them are gone.
Friday: early shapes, and the sculptors are there
The festival's own advice is to come Friday for early progress, and to come Friday through Sunday if you want the best chance of meeting the artists. Most sculptors are glad to talk while they work, though the festival notes that their deadline gets tighter as Sunday approaches. Friday, when they still have most of the clock left, is probably the easiest day to start a conversation.
The 2026 roster includes Franziska Agrawal, Seveline Beauregard, Thomas Brown, Joaquin Cortez, Matthew Deibert, Karen Fralich, Isabelle Gasse, Maxim Gazendam, John Gowdy, Carl Jara, Ferenc Monostori, Craig Mutch, Joon Park, Bruce Peck, Emerson Schreiner, Wilfred Stijger, Edith van de Wetering and Brian Wiggelsworth. Their biographies connect them to Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Hungary and the United States. Two of those names are last year's doubles winners. Edith van de Wetering and Wilfred Stijger took first place in 2025 with "Catch of the Day." Siesta Sand's recap of the 2025 festival reports that they also won the doubles Sculptors' Choice award, and that Karlis Ile won both first place and Sculptors' Choice in solo with "The Ice is Melting."
Lessons and live demos run daily Friday through Sunday, so Friday is also a good day for kids who would rather dig than watch.
Saturday: the most going on, so it sells out first
Saturday is the only day the gates stay open past 5:30 p.m. Hours run 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. After sunset, Sculptures After Dark lights the pieces with colored lights until closing. Saturday also has the Amateur Competition for local sculptors, and sculptors are still carving on the last of their eight-hour days. If you want detail work, the festival recommends Saturday or Sunday morning.
All of that on one day shows up at the ticket desk. The $55 reserved parking pass, which is sold in advance only and parks you in the southeast corner of the Siesta Beach lot, was already sold out for Saturday in mid-October. Friday, Sunday and Monday passes were still available. As Siesta Sand reported when the Chamber put out its call for volunteers, the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce expects more than 40,000 visitors over the event.
If Saturday night is your choice, plan to get there without a car. The transportation section below explains how.
Sunday: the final hours, then the awards
On Sunday the sculptors get their last four hours, and the awards ceremony starts at 3 p.m. Sunday morning is your last chance to watch the final cleanup on the sculptures. Sunday afternoon is when the winners are announced. Gates close at 5:30 p.m.
Monday: the finished sculptures, with most artists gone
On Monday, November 16, the gates are open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and last ticket sales are 30 minutes before close. Every sculpture is finished and judged, but most artists leave that day. People's Choice voting is still open. You drop a token at your favorite sculpture, and voting closes at 2:30 p.m. Monday.
Monday is the right day if you want to see the finished work and still get a vote in. You'll miss the carving and most of the artists.
The free part of the festival: Vendor Village
The festival's 100-vendor Vendor Village is open to the public, and you don't need an admission ticket to go in. The Village sits on the sand at Siesta Beach and is already sold out to vendors. Its hours run slightly longer than the sculpture gates on two days:
- Friday, November 13: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday, November 14: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., staying open through the evening light-up
- Sunday, November 15: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Monday, November 16: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., when vendor load-out begins
So you can buy your sculpture ticket for one day and still come back for the Village on another. That's useful if out-of-town guests arrive midweek.
Ticket prices, and the October 31 deadline
The best online prices end soon. Before October 31, online prices are:
| Ticket | At the gate | Online before Oct. 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | $20 | $18 |
| Senior / military | $18 | $16 |
| Ages 5–17 | $12 | $10 |
| Under 5 | Free | Free |
From November 1 through 16, the online discount drops to $1 off. A four-day pass costs $60. For an adult, three separate gate tickets add up to the same $60 as the four-day pass, so the pass only saves money if you go all four days. Bring a card. The admission tent and the beer and water tents take credit or debit only, while vendors and the Party Tent may take cash.
Getting to Beach Road without a parking space
Free public parking at 948 Beach Road is first come, first served, and the festival warns that it fills fast. A Sarasota Herald-Tribune photo gallery from the 2025 festival included a couple who turned around in 2024 because of traffic and no parking. They came back in 2025, arrived early and had advance tickets. The festival encourages carpooling and other ways to get there. Your options on the island:
- Breeze Route 77, the Siesta Islander trolley. It's free and runs daily 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., connecting Siesta Key Village, Siesta Beach, South Village and Turtle Beach Park and Campground. Riders board and get off only at designated stops, according to Sarasota County. The county's route map, effective September 1, 2026, estimates a trolley every 30 minutes and notes that traffic can affect that. The Breeze Rider app shows live arrival times. The trolley runs until 10 p.m., an hour after Saturday's gates close.
- The Frog Hop. This private shuttle picks you up at your door anywhere from Turtle Beach to Siesta Key Village, including Siesta and Crescent beaches. Island rides are free, and drivers work for tips. Call 844-376-4467 or text 301-257-1930. Vans usually run 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., later on Friday and Saturday in season.
- Route 33. The festival lists it, but the Siesta Key Chamber describes it as a winter seasonal service running roughly December through April. Check the schedule before counting on it for mid-November.
For guests who need help on the sand, the festival lends a limited number of beach wheelchairs, first come, first served, at the Information Tent. You'll need an ID and an e-signature.
Hosting guests for festival weekend and want help with Siesta Key, from the trolley stops to the day that fits your group? The Paxton Group is glad to share what we know about life on the Key. Start your Florida lifestyle search with The Paxton Group.
