You're watching HotSicket. Your source for what's happening in Hampton Roads, I'm your host, Michelle Sieger. The Neptune Festival has become Virginia Beach's way of sending summer out with a month-long bang. In the studio today, we have the two Neptune Festival experts who can tell us exactly how we can get in on the fun. I'm very glad to have you both here today. Nice to be here. So tell us, thank you, kind of an overview, what have we gotten stored this year? Well, we have a lot in store. This is the 42nd annual Neptune Festival. So hard to believe. We've been at this for that long, but the festival just keeps getting bigger and better. And we've got coming up, of course, at the end of the month, will be the Grand Finale Boardwalk Weekend, which is down on the ocean front. But between now and then, we have a couple of events that will also Neptune activities. We have our Fall Wine Festival at 31st Street Park coming up on the 12th and 13th. And then we also have our end of summer Bay Bash, which is a big dance band party fun on the 18th. So lots of opportunities for people to kind of get in the mood and get ready for Boardwalk Weekend. And it's going to be a lot of fun. That is going to be fun. So, of course, Boardwalk Weekend, it's kind of famous for sand sculpting. It is famous for sand sculpting. Sandz, the International Sand sculpting competition is our signature event. And that's we have sculptors coming from around the world. We have 32 that will be coming from 13 countries this year to participate in this competition. It has two categories. It has a team category and it has a solo category. So we have 10 teams of two and we have 12 solo artists that will be competing for the purse. And it's a very big deal and it's very exciting and it's beautiful. And it's definitely something worth seeing when you come down to the ocean front. That is crazy. Now, with international artists at, or should I call you King Neptune? Either. Do we get a lot of international spectating? We do have some. I'm no last year. I met a few people from different countries that come in. We get a lot of Canadians that come in. But also from farther reaches to come in for this competition. As Becky mentioned, it's one of the world's largest and best competitions. That is amazing. The hotels must just be track full. The hotels, boardwalk weekend, sells out the hotels. We attract about four to five hundred thousand people to the boardwalk over the weekend. And the really good thing about that is about 65% is from Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads region. So we're attracting about 35% of that group from outside of the region. So we can showcase the great seabaring and city that we have. And I mean, really as the official festival? Right. Right. We are the official celebration of the city of Virginia Beach. And so we are in effect the goodwill ambassadors of the city of Virginia Beach. And so you kind of hold that up. Yes. I am kind of the ceremonial, not kind of I am, the ceremonial leader of the festival. And the importance of that is we have seven to eight hundred volunteers that come out. This event and these events throughout the year and especially into boardwalk weekend would not happen without those volunteers. And so I am the ceremonial leader of them, but also of all the residents and the attendees to the festival. We have such a great group of events that we put on very, very diverse and we are looking to appeal to just a broad range of people throughout throughout the region and other farther reaches. Absolutely. Now back, you tell us some of the other events that are going on. I mean, well, boardwalk weekend in addition to the International San Skolping Competition. We have the Grand Parade on Saturday, which is always a favorite that starts at 11.30 and it runs along Atlantic Avenue. We'll do fireworks on Saturday night at 9. Actually, they're going to be shot over the ocean this year at about 20th Street. So you can kind of plan where you want to be for that. We have the art and craft show. We have over 250 artists that are along the boardwalk. So it's a great time to do your early Christmas shopping and buy something nice for your friends or family. We have the Youth Art Show on Sunday, which is great. It's high school students actually that are showing their art. So it's really a nice way to focus on our Virginia Beach artists, young artists. We have the sailing regotted that goes on during the weekend. There's volleyball and there's music. We have three stages of music and then we have a family stage on 13th Street. That's really a program for younger children and families to come. It might be puppets. It might be a younger show, but it's really great. And so there's just something to do. And it stretches. It starts at 2nd Street and goes all the way up to 36th Street. So even though there are a lot of people down there, there's so much room to move around and there's so much to do that I don't think you really ever feel like you're really packed in. I think everybody can really enjoy it. And of course the ocean is right there. So what a beautiful backdrop. Exactly. Well, there's so much great stuff happening and not nearly enough time to cover at all. So go to their Facebook page, find them on Facebook and vote whether the king should keep his beard after the Neptune Festival is over. And for more information, visit NeptuneFestival.com or call 757-498-0215 for a hot ticket on the Shell Seagull.