With no event like it within 400 miles, the annual Thomasville Tourism Chainsaw Sculpting Competition — to be held on April 29, 30 and May 1 in the Thomasville clock tower parking lot on Main Street — will bring some of the best sculptors nationwide to the city to carve figures from 6 to 8-foot-long white pine logs.
“It will provide great entertainment for citizens but also help the economy by bringing in outside people to spend money,” said Mark Scott, Thomasville Tourism director. “These guys are really pretty dog-gone good from everything I’ve seen.”
During the competition, people can wander around to watch the carvers at work. Quick carves — which will occur daily given enough business sponsors, Scott said — are 45-minute competitions in which the sculptor has a short window of time to create a smaller piece from a 6-foot log.
“It’ll give spectators a chance to see it go from log to art in 45 minutes,” Scott said.
For each quick carve, a judge will award the best sculptor a small prize.
The competition will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday. Scott said he hopes to field 12-14 well-known carvers, including Eddie Hoots, Jim Calder Jr., and Randy Everett, of Colfax.
Various levels of sponsorship allow businesses the chance to advertise. Thomasville Medical Center already has committed to sponsor. Depending on the level of commitment, a sponsored carver will wear the business’ shirt and deliver a custom-made piece to the company
An auction — beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday after the competition draws to a close — will put six pieces from each carver up for bidding. The sculptures can be ones made during the event or ones crafted and stained beforehand.
A prize, probably a chainsaw, will go to the carver who makes the piece that sells for the highest and to the carver whose six pieces bring in the most revenue. Half of the money from each piece will go towards Thomasville Tourism to promote the area, and the other half will go to the carver.
Using proceeds to promote Thomasville tourism sits as a top priority to help the town’s economy, Scott said. He said he hopes the event will bring not only citizens but out-of-towners to Main Street — one of the reasons he planned the event to overlap with Spring Days.
If enough businesses buy sculptures to display in their shop, Scott said he thinks it could become a tourist attraction.
To promote that, Scott plans to create a brochure mapping out where each company featuring a sculpture is located. The brochures will be distributed to all 13 official North Carolina Welcome Centers, and area visitors’ centers and will be the primary piece given out at Thomasville Tourism.
“This is a city and county that has faced double-digit unemployment for quite some time,” Scott said. “And if we can help a trail of businesses that have these pieces of art to bring people to come into town and see those and bring money, that helps.”
But beyond just helping Thomasville businesses, the competition also benefits the carvers, who would otherwise have to travel to Pennsylvania to find the next closest carving contest. In fact, the Thomasville competition is one of only about 50 world-wide, said local carver Randy Everett.
“All of the carvers are just really excited to see a chainsaw carving event down South,” he said. “There’s not been one down South in several years.”
But for all the sport’s obscurity, chainsaw carving makes it up in uniqueness. There’s not really anything else quite like it, Everett said.
“It takes a lot of practice to make the saw do what you want it to do,” he said. “And every piece of wood is not the same. So every piece is a unique piece.”
Even though these competitions draw a bigger following in the Midwest or in Washington state, both Scott and Everett think that this one-of-a-kind event will garner interest in Thomasville.
“It’s very unusual,” Everett said. “It’s fast and loud. Everyone gets really excited about watching a piece of art created out of just a chunk of wood.”
Staff Writer Erin Wiltgen can be reached at 888-3576, or at newsdesk@tvilletimes.com
popout - basic information:
What: The first annual Thomasville Tourism Chainsaw Sculpting Competition
When: April 29 and 30, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 1 from 8 a.m. to noon, followed by an auction at 3 p.m.
Where: The Thomasville clock tower parking lot on Main Street
Free ear plugs will be provided
popout - sponsorship basics:
Businesses can sponsor a carver on a variety of levels.
The $250 sponsorship receives a carved and signed piece, requires the carver to wear the company’s shirt for a day, and the sponsor can have the company flyer posted at the carver’s tent.
The $350 sponsor gets the above plus the carver will custom-make a piece for the business, the sponsor gets the company name on the official event T-shirt, the sponsor gets the company picture and information on the Thomasville Tourism Web site, and the sponsor will be listed in the Thomasville Tourism brochure that maps out where people can see carved sculptures around town.
The $500 sponsor gets the above plus a 10 x 10 tent at the competition and 10 event T-shirts.
The $1,000 sponsor gets the above plus a quick carve incorporating the company name.
The $2,000 sponsor gets the above plus the company name will be incorporated into the official event name.
Every level except for the $2,000 level can have multiple sponsors, and every level but the $1,000 level can have three sponsors.
To sponsor a carver, contact Mark Scott at 336-472-4422.
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