Watch sawdust fly at inaugural Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous
Photo courtesy of Ronan Chamber of Commerce
The Ronan Area Chamber of Commerce will host their first-ever chainsaw carving competition June 20-23 with competitors arriving from around the U.S. and beyond.
Photo courtesy of Ronan Chamber of Commerce
The talents of chainsaw carvers will be on display at the event. The carvers will also share their tips and techniques during educational seminars.
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RONAN – The Mission Valley will be abuzz with rip-roaring activity during the area’s first Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous starting Thursday, June 20, through Sunday, June 23.
The four-day event will feature chainsaw carvers from around the country showing off their carving skills as they craft logs into works of art.
“As of right now, we have seven carvers committed and a couple more hopefuls,” said Brian Bergquist, manager of the Ronan Area Chamber of Commerce. “We have both male and female carver artists coming from Montana, Oklahoma and other US states, along with representatives of several international locations including Macedonia, Argentina and Russia.”
Starting each day at 9 a.m., carvers will interact with and dazzle onlookers until 8 p.m. as they create beautiful and unique masterpieces.
Hosted by the Ronan Area Chamber of Commerce, the Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous will take place at the Lake County fairgrounds in Ronan. The Mission Mountains will offer event goers a beautiful backdrop, while the fairground’s central location will be visible from the highway as tourists are passing through town.
Bergquist explained how the event came to be. “The idea was first presented by Ronna Walchuk of the Ronan Flower Mill. She had seen a town in Canada that did this annually and had a collection of amazing art lining their Main Street. She thought that bringing a carving competition to Ronan would be a perfect fit for our agricultural-based community.”
Chainsaw carving has steadily grown in popularity over the years and is a prevalent art form across the Pacific Northwest where area forests provide a supply of raw material for carvers. Spectators will be able to roam the event grounds free of charge to watch and talk directly with the carvers as they work on their individual projects. Guest can freely interact with the carvers, but Bergquist was quick to note, “Visitors to the event will not be able to actually carve with a chainsaw.”
In addition to the artist working on their wooden sculptures, there will also be educational and instructional seminars each day where carvers will share their tips and techniques along with an event-ending auction.
Each day will end in a quick carve challenge where the chainsaw artists are given a limited amount of time to complete a carving design of their choice while spectators watch, and those sculptures will then be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Rendezvous organizers are hopeful visitors and community members will take full advantage of this rare opportunity and come out to check out and appreciate the talented chainsaw carvers from around the world.
For more information on the Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous or other upcoming events planned in the Ronan area, visit the chamber’s website at www.RonanChamber.com or phone 406- 676-8300.
