A Squamish couple originally from Ukraine is set to be featured on CBC's Race Against The Tide.
The series pits sand sculptors against each other and incoming waves.
Andrei and Kateryna Kudrin, who immigrated to Squamish from Kharkiv, Ukraine, two years ago due to the Russian invasion, are both artists.
For their day jobs, Andrei works as an ice sculptor, while Kateryna is a house painter.
The couple qualified for the show's first season while still living in Ukraine, but due to the pandemic and other factors, they didn't get to compete on air until this fourth season of the series.
Race Against The Tide returns on Sunday, April 28, on CBC Gem.
In the season premiere, viewers meet the 10 sculpting teams who arrive in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and complete their first challenge.
In the first episode, the pairs, who hail from various locations around the globe, must create sand sculptures that showcase who they are as a team.
They have six hours to do it, as the waves of the tide lap ever closer to their creations.
The team that remains standing at the end of the series will be crowned Race Against the Tide champions, take home the Golden Beach Bucket, and receive $10,000 cash.
While the couple can't reveal too much of what happens in the show—viewers have to tune in to see the drama unfold—they did share with The Squamish Chief that the filming was done last August.
They said the competition began very early in the morning to be timed with the lowest tide.
The pair met in art college and have been sculpting together since. They have sculpted in festivals and competitions worldwide for about 25 years.
Andrei said that sand is just another medium through which they can produce art.
Asked how it feels to work on a piece of art that is then washed away from the tide, Andrei was philosophical.
"Every sculpture is washed away sooner or later," he said, adding that they hope to make people happy with their sand sculptures.
The pair said they knew some of the other competitors from past competitions and that they got along well with all the fellow participants.
"There was a very good atmosphere," Andrei said. "They are very good people—very good artists."
Canadian hip-hop artist Wes Williams, aka Maestro Fresh Wes, hosts the series.
Sand sculpting world champion Karen Fralich and master sculptor Rusty Croft are the judges.
The show airs on CBC Gem as of 9 a.m. ET and at 7 p.m. on CBC TV.
Go to CBC Gem for more information.
