Tag: Chainsaw Carving Competition

Watch The Chips Fly – Chainsaw Competition 2017!

by Jenny Chissus

Yes, this is ABSOLUTELY my most favorite event in Seldovia each year!

For a small community, Seldovia has an amazing number of great events that happen throughout the year.  Activities are sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, Arts Council, Seldovia Village Tribe, Susan B. English school and of course the businesses who bring in live entertainment and host events!   We are so fortunate to have such an active group of organizations and community members who host such a wide variety of events, activities and celebrations. These are well attended by our locals as well as visitors who enjoy participating in our small, beautiful and intimate setting.

The Craft Invitational Chainsaw Carving Competition is a chance for artists to gather in Seldovia over a 4 day period, and create masterpiece carvings out of our large Stika Spruce logs!  Many of these artists are accustomed to working with smaller materials, so being able to carve a 26 -45 inch diameter log is a treat!  Amazing creations are brought to life!

Since 2006, the Seldovia Chamber of Commerce has hosted this competition and been honored to place these stunning carvings throughout our community so our locals and visitors are able to enjoy them all year long!   The community has raised funds through sponsorships to award $3,000 for our first place winner, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for our 3rd place recipient each year.

Our outdoor museum of over 45 carvings is the best in Alaska!    The joy of seeing the rough logs turned into finished art is palpable in the eyes of the onlookers.  All weekend long, folks stop in to monitor the progress, cheer the carvers on with encouraging words, enjoy conversations around the campfire while snacking on smores and roasting hotdogs. It is an outdoor community event that lasts for 4 days and costs nothing to participate.  A family friendly activity, witnessing the creation of Alaskan artwork in progress!

Carvers and their assistants are treated like the superstars they are, as we host their trip over from Homer, their lodging while in town, as well as all their meals for the entire stay.  We invite families to join them on the trip, so it often is a vacation to remember for their whole family!

Thank you to the many volunteers, sponsors, businesses and individuals who make this event a huge success!

There is a lot going on this weekend as the Blueberry Festival returns to Seldovia, the 5K and 10K run on Saturday and the Guitar Master’s concert on Sunday!  So come join us this Labor Day Weekend to Watch the Chips Fly!