SpongeBob and Patrick, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Looney Tunes characters shared space with David and Goliath, military symbols and a variety of other sand sculptures Friday at the fifth annual Scotty’s Contracting and Stone Sand in the City.

Members of the 18 teams in the sandcastle building event – hosted by Kids on the Block and Prime Time Events and presented by Synaxis/VanMeter Insurance – shoveled, patted, wet and sculpted sand as the creations they designed came to life before their eyes.

“This is our first year to participate. We’ve got everyone from engineering to purchasing to scheduling on the team. It’s a whole cross-section,” co-Chief Executive Officer John Kelly said of the 12-member Pan-Oston team. “It’s a chance for us to get out of the office and do something good at the same time. We’re excited about doing it.”

The Pan-Oston team gave Looney Toons characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Tazmanian Devil and Wile E. Coyote the Mount Rushmore treatment by putting their faces on a mountain sculpture. At the foot of the mountain, Wile E. Coyote has taken his infamous plunge and left an imprint. Next to it is a sign that says “Ouch.”

“They got together as a group and came up with this,” Kelly said of the team. “I think they’re doing a great job for the first year.”

Sand in the City will continue through 5 p.m. today with Community Day at the old Bowling Green Mall parking lot at the corner of Campbell Lane and Nashville Road. Inflatable games, food, music and more will be available. The Re/Max Real Estate Executives hot air balloon will also be at the event. Residents can make $1 People’s Choice votes for the best sculpture – which will be announced today – and hit the inflatable games. Smaller inflatables cost two tickets while larger inflatables are three. Participants can pay $1 per ticket or $15 for an all-day armband for inflatables and games.

Proceeds will benefit Kids on the Block, a non-profit puppet troupe that teaches understanding of social issues to youths.

“We have 18 teams. It’s the most we’ve every had,” said Chad Delpont, Prime Time Events senior event coordinator. “We’re so excited.”

Teams were judged in several categories. Winners included the following: Golden Shovel Award, Scotty’s Contracting and Stone; second place overall and Church Challenge winner, Holy Spirit Catholic Church; third place overall, Realtors Association of Bowling Green and Southcentral Kentucky; Best Rookie Team, Pan-Oston; School Challenge, St. Joseph School; Best Kids Theme, BKD; Best Promotional, LifeSkills; and Best Architectural Design, The Presbyterian Church.

Larry Conrad, a St. Joseph School parent, said the school’s seventh- and eighth-grade students designed their Sand in the City project.

“They came up with ‘Support Our Troops and Pray for Peace.’ We have a Hummer, a stealth bomber and an aircraft carrier,” he said. “We started at 10 a.m. this morning. We’ve done this for five years, so we know what we can and can’t get done.”

Clay Jernigan, 12, a seventh-grader at St. Joseph, said the toughest thing about doing the sculpture was all the work it takes to form it.

“I sculpted the Hummer,” he said. “If you don’t get it right, it will collapse.”

Meg Manning, executive director of the Realtors Association, said the group’s sculpture – which included a giraffe, hippo, lion, zebra and penguins – had a theme of a song from the animated movie “Madagascar.”

“We’re doing ‘Move It, Move It.’ It’s a kids theme, something fun,” she said. “The top of it collapsed and we had to rebuild, so we were running a little behind.”

The group was the winner of last year’s Golden Shovel Award and has participated every year, Manning said.

“We’re out here for a good time and a good cause,” she said.

At another part of the event, Laura Henderson of Morgantown stood beside one of the inflatable games with her sisters, Julia Dailey and Jennifer Simmons, as Henderson’s son, Gabriel, 3, and Simmons’ son, Ian, 2, bounced inside.

“We went to look at the sand sculptures,” she said. “The boys’ favorite was the one with SpongeBob and Patrick. I liked the one with the eagle and the map of the U.S.”

Dailey said her favorite was the Looney Toons sculpture.

“I thought it was cute,” she said.

The sculptures were so good and the day so nice that it was hard to pick one favorite thing, Henderson said.

“All of them are wonderful,” she said. “They have nice children’s activities, too.”

Simmons, who lives in Bowling Green, agreed.

“I liked the one that was about supporting the troops,” she said.

Supporting troops means a lot to their family, Henderson said.

“I’m in the reserves,” she said. “My brother is in the National Guard. My dad is in the Army.”

Other Sand in the City sponsors include Key Oil Co.; Rinker Materials; Scott, Murphy, and Daniel; U.S. Bank; National City Bank; Chase Bank; Aramark; Whayne Supply; Stewart-Richey Construction; Gary Force Honda; Center of Insurance; The Homebuilders Association; and Brandeis.