Ridgway Rendezvous 2003
Notes 1
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The Ridgway Rendezvous, held in Ridgway, PA, at the end of February, is the largest chainsaw carving event in the world. Carvers from all over the world attend and spend half a week socializing, watching demos or classes, and carving statues that are auctioned for Make-a-Wish and the Ridgway YMCA on Saturday afternoon. This year's auction raised $43,700 on the work of 180 carvers, doubling the to-date total for the event.
(Official website of the 2003 Ridgway Rendezvous: Opens in a new window, plays music.)
I first learned of the Rendezvous just before the 2002 event and made sure to include the 2003 event on my carving calendar. The very thought of attending was almost overwhelming; I have never been to any chainsaw event and am the only c/s carver I know, pretty much self-taught outside of a few books and videos. I have never carved in public; take a long time to finish carvings; until recently, didn’t own a saw that would run reliably for more than three tanks of gas. I had to allow myself to back out of any commitment except attending before I could register at all, and then I went north with a mind as open as it's ever been. What follows are notes I took over the four days:
I can't think of any place I've ever lived that could have hosted a similar event. Although the carvers paid their own way to Ridgway, we were met at the airport in Pittsburgh (three hours away) and ferried north if we asked to be. Many people were housed with townspeople at no charge. My hosts came to the Firehouse Field several times to watch the events and made sure to look for "their" carvers every time. In addition, various organizations from the town provided five free meals for everyone, and we had coupons for more food from many of the downtown restaurants. I only spent money on a new carving bar (8”; it’s so cute I want to put it on a chain and wear it as a necklace), safety glasses, log marking pens in colors I've never seen before, and more film (9 rolls; this trip was as photographically rich as the trip to Antarctica where I shot 42 rolls in 21 land days).
Carvers setting up in Firehouse Field on Thursday morning.
No-one was the least surprised to meet a woman who owns five chainsaws. My own prejudices jumped at me when I was surprised to notice that, of the 13 Japanese carvers, three were women. For the record, the field is about 10% female.
I need to say a little more about this. It was so relaxing to NOT have to face anyone’s surprise that I carve with chainsaws! And encouraging; and for want of a better word, “calibrating.” In my local life, men are shocked that a woman will use a chainsaw. They may tease my boyfriend about how lucky he is to find a woman who can cut her own firewood, but they don’t want their wives to do it. At Ridgway, men understood my frustration at not being able to run the larger saws. (For the record, I run a Stihl 026 as my basic saw. My dealer would not sell me an 036 for carving because it was clear to both of us I couldn’t handle it safely unless I was doing a crosscut with gravity on my side.) At Ridgway, for that matter, I observed what size saws and bars men were using, and I understood how they can carve the larger pieces, quickly (and therefore profitably). I will be able to do pull-ups before very much longer, I will, I will….
Beards, big bushy grizzled and long, were everywhere. If America starts to look like a chainsaw convention, short Gillette. It was cold; all the northerners wore Carhartts. Carvers from the south shivered. Funky fur hats showing claws faces and tails were popular.
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