What’s For Lunch?

As we say good-by to summer, even though recent days have indeed been summer-like, we think of a special annual event, Short Beach Days, three days of pure fun for kids of all ages. This was year 71 in the history of the event, one that began in 1946, one year after World War II ended.

Julia Rusatsky, an actress and a photographer, loves Short Beach Days. She grew up in Short Beach in the 1990s, graduated from Branford High, and each year returns for this special weekend. She especially loves the sand sculpture contest. As a kid, she learned the joy of sand art and participated in many of the weekend competitions, including the Lip Sync and the Labor Day parade. 

Led by Sean Kelly, the event’s coordinator, volunteers from across Short Beach handle dozens of activities, including publishing a program, raising funds for the event and holding a slew of events, including a pie baking contest, sack races, swimming and running races and Bingo night, among others.

This year, Julia, 27, and her husband Daniel Etra, a businessman, returned to Julia’s childhood home for Short Beach Days. They now live in Manhattan.

The sand sculpture contest was held on Saturday, Sept. 3, at 2:30 p.m. at Johnson’s Beach. Before the event began, Julia and Daniel and her parents, John and Nancy Rusatsky, had lunch together. The conversation centered on what sand sculpture they would create this year. They didn’t have much time to decide.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Julia told the Eagle, standing on the sand near the sculpture in progress. There were 23 other sculptures getting underway along the beach with families gathered round.

Typically families bring with them the staples to create a sand sculpture: white clam shells, (teeth, eyes) loads of seaweed (hair or a beard), and in the case of the Rusatskys and the Etras, a bottle of ketchup. Julia told the Eagle, while standing in the sand, that she wouldn’t miss this day. 

“We were going to do a hippo,” she said, describing the family’s lunch conversation. ​“But then we realized the hippo was in last year’s sculpture. So we decided that Daniel would be eaten by a crocodile. That was the idea.” Daniel went for it.

Put another way, Daniel would be the crocodile’s lunch.

So they dashed down to Johnson’s Beach to begin their adventure. The theme of Short Beach Days this year was, fittingly, ​“Deep Blue Sea.”

Slowly from the sand came a long, lean, menacing crocodile, his head fixated on Daniel, whose expression is nothing short of absolute fear.
Soon the crocodile is moving toward Daniel to begin his feast. 

Here Daniel is stretched out, dead as a ducat, blood (the ketchup) evident from his wounds. And he stays put in that position, not moving, for quite some time as the 23 other sculptures are judged, too. 

The judges meet above the sand with Peggy Carpenter (in blue shirt), the leader of the Sand Sculpture event.

There is a lot to discuss. 

Soon Carpenter announces the winners. It turns out that first on the list are Daniel and Julia and her parents. They win first prize for the most creative sculpture in the unlimited category. 

Hearing the announcement, Daniel jumps up from the dead, so to speak, waving his arms and shouting with joy from the sand, ​“Yes, Yes!”

Other winners, and there were many other winners in various categories, smile away as their names are called out.

Carpenter (pictured) asks that the sculptures remain as they were created.

“Let them be there for many, many hours,” she tells the crowd, using her bullhorn. Then she thanks all the volunteers and congratulates the winners.

Some hours later the tide comes in and bids farewell to ​“Lunch” and the other sculptures dotting the beach.

###