It is not an artform for the delicate.
Chainsaw carving brings to mind thoughts of noise and destruction. But what is left when the sawdust settles at the 20th annual Ridgway Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous will be detailed works of art by artists from around the world.
The rendezvous, set for Thursday through Saturday, will be set up at a different spot this year than last: the old Motion Control facility on Gillis Avenue, said event spokesman Isaac McDaniel. Some activities, such as the carving, will be outside, while others will be in the Motion Control building.
Carvers, craft and food vendors and wineries and breweries will be set up from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Live entertainment is set for Thursday through Saturday, and an awards presentation will take place Sunday.
The rendezvous is an Appalachian Arts Studio event. It is free to attend and will be held rain or shine.
The carving itself brings in an international crowd of talented artists to Elk County.
Carvers will travel from Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Mongolia to take part in the local event. In the United States, carvers will come from Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, Texas, Indiana, New York, Colorado, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio and Michigan.
McDaniel explained that at the event, carvers will start with an 8-foot log that they will carve right there at the festival for visitors to watch. He said most will likely have a finished piece by the end of the weekend.
For attendees who would like to take one of works home, “A lot of them will also be bringing pieces to sell directly to the public,” McDaniel said. He noted that many will accept credit cards, too.
New this year, a small beer- and wine-tasting area will be set up, said McDaniel.
He said there will also be a full line-up of local entertainment acts this year, giving locals one more reason to come out for the rendezvous.
On Thursday, Tony Kellogg will perform at 4 p.m. Friday entertainers will include Irelynn Fink at 3 p.m., Caroline Fitch at 4 p.m., and III For the Road at 5 p.m. On Saturday, visitors will hear Tim McLain — Guitar Club at noon, Ian Unwired at 1 p.m., Cindy McMuray at 2 p.m., Bob Dietz & Carlotta Swanson at 3 p.m., Ellen Starski at 4 p.m. and Western Range at 6 p.m.
At 2 p.m. Sunday, there will be a Carver Award Presentation, with awards given in three categories: People Choice, Social Media Choice and Carvers Choice.
According to the event website, visitors can vote for the People’s Choice winner by casting their votes at the Appalachian Arts Studio Information Booth at the event. People can vote for their Social Media Choice by liking photos on the Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous Facebook page. Carvers will receive information during check-in for how to vote for the Carvers Choice.
As for Ridgway, the event is “huge for the town,” said McDaniel. He said he just sent a mass email reminding people of the local businesses that will be open during the weekend, places where they can purchase food and hotels where they can stay.
“It’s such a big tourist event for the town and helps a lot of the businesses,” he said, adding that the event “shares the history of Ridgway.”
“Elk County is such as huge lumber area. (The rendezvous) pays tribute to that as well,” McDaniel said.
He noted that people can walk through town and see carvings all over the place that people have purchased and displayed downtown.
“It’s really cool to see that heritage,” he said.
McDaniel said the festival started two decades ago with “just a handful of carvers,” but has grown quite a bit since.
“It’s a really unique festival in that it’s all about the chainsaw carvers,” he said.
Besides bringing in more carvers, another way the event has changed is the many specialized tools they bring to create details such as eyes and textures.
“It’s really neat to just come out and watch them start out with this log,” then it becomes something like a wolf or a bear, he said.
According to McDaniel, the talent level of carvers keeps increasing, too.
“If you look at some of the carving from even five years ago compared to what some of these people are doing now, the amount of talent and evolution with the artform, it’s really amazing,” he said.
Another interesting thing about the medium of wood is that carvers won’t know what they’ll find inside the log until they cut into it. McDaniel explained that, unlike someone working with clay who can smooth out the air bubbles, a wood carver may run into a rot in the wood or a knot and be forced to work around it.
