Taranaki Woodcraft Festival
The Stratford Wood Turners are a group of around 25 like-minded individuals, who are interested in woodturning and woodcraft. Woodturning is the craft of shaping wood into various designs and objects with the use of hand-held tools and a lathe; a simple mechanism which provides rotation, similar to a potter’s wheel.
President of the Stratford Wood Turners, Gordon Oliver, told us about the upcoming Taranaki Woodcraft Festival. “We decided to hold an exhibition and competition for the public, so we needed to raise money towards event costs, advertisement and prize money; which is where support from TSB Community
Trust has been important. It not only enables us to host the festival with confidence that everything will run smoothly, but it allows us to offer reasonable prize money to attract more entries from not just the Taranaki region, but from all over New Zealand.”
The main draw of the festival is the woodcraft competition with 9 different categories including; woodturning, carving, furniture, intarsia, marquetry, toys & models. The competition is open to everyone, with a junior section for under 18s, and a novice category for those who have never won a prize in an open competition. Prizes of up to $300 are on offer for first, second and third place in each of the categories, allowing people within each unique area of woodcraft to be recognised.
“From previous experience, we will be expecting around 120 entries to the competition, along with around 1,000 local people passing through the exhibition over the weekend to enjoy all the works on display.”
“Woodturning is a popular pastime for lots of retired people, allowing them to maintain practical skills and creativity. Primarily those involved are over 40, but there are a few younger people who are starting to take it up too, which is great to see.”
“The purpose of the Taranaki Woodcraft Festival is to raise awareness of woodturning and woodcraft as a hobby, to hopefully encourage more people to take it up. We also know there are a lot of people out there who have workspaces, in their house or shed, where they are practicing woodcraft, so it’s nice for people to be able to showcase what they have made.”
The Taranaki Woodcraft Festival, held in conjunction with Taranaki Regional Council, will be held on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December at Pukeiti Gardens in New Plymouth. We wish great success to everyone involved with the event, and hope to see the pastimes of woodturning and woodcraft continuing to flourish throughout the region.