The sawdust will be flying at the Eaton County Fairground in Charlotte, MI. May 31 through June 4, 2006, when 60 chainsaw carvers will converge upon this small town in central Michigan for the Inaugural International Great Lakes Chainsaw Sculptors' Competition and Conservation Expo.
Carving
Competiton
These aren't your garden-variety
carvers, carving square bears on the street corner; they are tried
and true competitors from across the country and beyond, vying
for $20,000 in cash and prizes for their astonishing artwork done
with a chainsaw and finished with other power tools and chisels.
There will be 10 places in the pro division, 5 places in the semi-pro
division and 5 places in the senior division for the carvers over
60. There are some ladies carving in this event that will knock
your socks off with what they can produce with a log, imagination
and a sharp chainsaw. The artists will be selling their main pieces,
so feel free to walk up when they aren't carving and broker a
fine piece of art.
<< Dayton Scoggins carving his First Place winning eagle-dancer at the Reedsport, Oregon chainsaw carving competition, Father's Day weekend 2005.
Michigan's Great Outdoors
The theme for the event is Michigan's
Great Outdoors; each carver will have 27 hours to complete
their main piece, which will be judged using a very strict criteria.
Carving begins at 8:00 am and stops at 5:00 pm on these four days.
The Great Lakes Competition is one of five qualifying events
across the country included in the Echo Carving Series.
This series is a competition, ending the year with one of the
best competitive carvers winning top national honors.
Quick Carving Competition
At 5:30 pm each day there will
be an auction of the 75 minute Quick Carving produced by
each of the participants. You can witness this amazing feat 11:00
am to 12:15 pm each day Wednesday through Saturday, just before
the carvers break for lunch. This is also a competition within
the judged competition. Your bidding on the pieces will determine
the winners for each day; highest bid on a carving determines
the winners in five different places. On Sunday we will tally
up the winning auction prices and come up with five places for
the overall Quick Carve competition.
Wood Fair Exhibits and Demos
This event will include numerous
conservation organizations participating in a wood fair to educate
and inform the public of current hot topics, such as urban wood
usage and options for the ash trees being devastated by the emerald
ash borer. There will be presentations on many different aspects
of these topics in the Exhibition Hall, 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm Friday
& Saturday and 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Sunday.
Along with these groups will be many woodworkers of various types, including basket weavers, woodturners, flute and drum makers, furniture builders, rustic/log furniture builders, log home builders, canoe/kayak builders, hand carvers, wood burners and many other artists from different mediums demonstrating, displaying and selling their work. Hand carvers providing demos or visiting will find tools and supplies available from Belcher's Carving Supply. Chainsaw carving equipment will also be available for those looking for specialty items.
We have included artists from the Renaissance Festival, Ann Arbor Art Fair, East Lansing Art Festival and Wheatland Music Festival in an effort to diversify this event for everyone's taste.
Wildlife and Fishing Exhibits
Members of many of the wildlife
and fishing organizations across the state will have booths and
exhibits throughout the grounds. They will be a great inspiration
for the carvers competing in the event. Bringing all of these
resources together in one spot can only be the ingredients for
a great time to be had by all those participating and the general
public coming to witness this amazing event.
This event is free to the public. Parking is free, and there is a full-hookup campground for those of who don't want to miss a minute of the action.
For additional information about this event , campground rates and motel/hotel availability contact Event Coordinator Jim Madsen. A Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn are right in the area. The town of Charlotte, MI is one of the Cool Cities in Michigan, so come and stay awhile.