Winter the dolphin honored at 13th annual Sanding Ovations

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - This is the last weekend to enjoy the spectacular sand sculptures at the 13th annual Sanding Ovations event on Treasure Island.

The theme this year was "Sandlantis: A Sand Sculpting Exhibition and Competition" – and this year there was a special tribute to a Tampa Bay icon, Winter the dolphin.

Treasure Island is Florida's sand sculpture capital for a good reason and this year it has lived up to the title.

Sandlantis brought people from far and wide for what’s become a tradition for families around Florida and visitors from afar.

But no toes were going in this sand. Sculptors from all over the world spend days carefully crafting spectacular castles, mythical sea creatures, and even Winter the dolphin, who recently passed away at the clearwater marine aquarium.

There’s still time to check out the sand sculptures of Sandlantis, which runs through the weekend.