"The response this year was incredible," said Doc Reiss, president of Nor'wester Rotary and one of the organizers of the annual sand sculpture contest, the North American Masters Invitational, held in conjunction with the club's Arts in Action street fair.

"Normally, we get about 225 entries for the area communities. This year we received 379 from people in Port Townsend and all the way out

to LaPush."

In the end, "Legends of Science Fiction" submitted by Kelly McKillip of Sequim was selected. McKillip, a frequent contributor to Living on the Peninsula magazine, published quarterly by the Sequim Gazette, is an emergency room nurse at Olympic Medical Center.

"It's a great idea. It covers everything from Isaac Asimov to The Jetsons to Avatar," said Reiss. The eight sculptors who will take this theme to the gallery on Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles all like the theme.

The North American Masters Invitational is presented by Windermere Real Estate and will run July 23-25 on the area just east of the city pier on Hollywood Beach.

The theme contest is run annually by the Rotary Club and the Peninsula Daily News. McKillip receives passes to the sand sculpture gallery and 100 Downtown Dollars.