Klingspor 24th Annual Extravaganza

24th Annual Klingspor's Woodworking Extravaganza

Friday October 25th, 9am – 6pm & Saturday October 26th, 9am – 4pm
1960 13th Ave Dr. SE, Hickory, NC 28602

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Welcome to the Extravaganza!

Every October, Klingspor’s Woodworking Shop sponsors and hosts the ONLY woodworking show of its kind in North Carolina on October 25th & 26th. The Woodworking Extravaganza, at the Hickory Metro Convention Center in Hickory, NC. 

Folks from the surrounding fifteen states travel to attend. In 2010, for example, over 4,500 people attended this event. This year there will be 50+ Vendors Many hosting their own booths and offering expert advice.  There will also be over 20 free demos, and crafts and games for your little ones. there will be plenty to see and learn. Soap carving will be returning again this year.  Join us Friday, October 25th, and Saturday, October 26th, 2024 to learn how to make soap carvings.

Meet some of our local woodworking clubs
and check out their craftsmanship on display

Power up your creativity and show off your skills

Klingspor’s Woodworking Shop, in collaboration with Kutzall and Arbortech, has joined forces to bring you a power carving sweepstakes! We want to see the innovative, creative, and downright incredible things you can make from wood using a power carving tool for 2024’s Carve It Up Sweepstakes!
 It’s easy to enter:

  1. Entry Must Be posted to Instagram
  2. Entry Must Be power carved In some way, highlighting your use of power carving tools used
  3. Entry Must Have FOUR hashtags included:
      #carveitupusa24  #klingsporswoodworkingshop  #arbortechie  #kutzall
  4. Entry Must tag accounts @klingsporswoodworkingshop  @Arbortechie  @kutzall
  5. Post Entry Must Be followers of @Klingsporswoodworkingshop  @Arbortechie  @kutzall
  6. Remember, you must use a power carving tool with your submission. Let’s see that work!

Rules, Forms and Information for Entry

Saturday, October 26th
Show Hours 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Hickory Metro Center, 1960 13th Ave Drive SE Hickory, NC​

Set up and Registration:
Friday, October 25 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday, October 26 7:00 AM – 8:45 AM

Judging begins at 9 a.m. Saturday

NO ENTRIES ACCEPTED AFTER 8:45 AM ON SATURDAY • NO MAILED-IN ENTRY FORMS or ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED

Entry Fee is $20 per carver. Payable to CVWC at the time of registration. Check or cash only.

Youth Category 36 will not be charged an entry fee unless carvings are entered into other categories

Please complete the entry form prior to registration.

  1. Entry form must be completed for all entries.
  2. Up to five carvings per category except cat 35.
  3. Entries must have been completed since 1/1/2021.
  4. All entries must have been handcrafted by the person entering. Roughouts are permitted only in the roughout category.
  5. Molded feet and glass eyes are permitted. Use of plastic, fabric, metallic additions, or any other non-carved item is not permitted. Non-wood materials are permitted on the base or habitat, provided they are handcrafted.
  6. The CVWC reserves the right to refuse any entry deemed to be “not good taste, or offensive”.
  7. Entries will be returned to the exhibitor at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the show.
  8. Entries are submitted at the discretion and sole risk of the entrant. CVWC will not be financially responsible for loss or damage regardless of cause.
  9. All entries must be hand-delivered.
  10. The final placement of the entry into the proper category is at the discretion of the show referees.
  11. The decisions of the judges are final.
  12. The artist’s name shall be obscured with tape. However, you are encouraged to place name cards or business cards on your carvings after all judging is completed.
  13. The Show Committee has the right to add, delete, or subdivide categories.
  14. Realistic – Exactly proportioned carving in the round.
  15. Stylized – Fully carved with careful deliberate, flowing, curved, and oval surfaces. Simplicity, beauty, and identification with minimal natural details. Realism is not the objective.
  16. Caricature – imitation of a person or animal in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect. The subject must be carved in the round.
  17. Habitat is not a category subject. Subjects that do not qualify within any category are considered habitat. Example: a dragonfly and a fish in a scene. The dragonfly does not qualify the carving as a group since there is no insect category.
  18. No CVWC blue ribbon carvings can compete unless the carving is entered in a higher division than previously entered.
  19. Group carvings are any combination of carvings within a category. Must be mounted on a single base. For judging purposes, the dominant subject will determine the category in which the multi-subject group will be placed.
  20. CVWC has the final decision over any and all competition-related questions and placement.
  21. 21.  Non-carved Pyrography can only be entered into Categories 32, 35, 36, and 1 (must be wood only). No Instructor assisted pyrography entries allowed!
  1. Show Theme – “Sea Life”
  2. Caricature up to 8” – (Excluding base) From bottom of feet to top of head. Single subject.
  3. Caricature over 8” – (Excluding base) From bottom of feet to top of head. Single subject.
  4. Animal Caricature – Any single subject or size.
  5. Caricature Group – 2 or more subjects or any combination from categories 2 through 4. No roughouts permitted.
  6. Caricature Busts – Any subject.
  7. Roughout – Any subject(s), non-instructor-assisted carving carved from a roughout.
  8. Bottle Stoppers – Any subject, must be affixed with a cork and displayed in a bottle.
  9. Ornaments – Any subject, must be hanging on a stand that is made or purchased.
  10. Santa’s – Full-bodied, caricature or realistic, any style.
  11. Wood Spirits – Human-like faces carved on the surface of bark, limb, knot, etc.
  12. Human Figure – Realistic, proportioned, man, woman, or child. Single or Group.
  13. Human Busts – Realistic, proportioned head and partial shoulder of man, woman, or child.
  14. Mythical / Fantasy – Any genre of myths, folktales, or imaginative fiction.
  15. Songbirds – Realistic – e.g. Robin, Wren, Woodpecker, etc.
  16. Ducks – Realistic – e.g. All Ducks, Geese, Swan, etc.
  17. Gunning Decoy – Contemporary and “Antique Style” judged in hand.
  18. Birds of Prey – Realistic – e.g. Hawk, Owl, Falcons, Eagles, etc.
  19. Game Birds – Realistic – e.g. Dove, Turkey, Quail, etc.
  20. Sea / Shorebirds – Realistic – Tern, Pelican, Gulls, Plovers, etc.
  21. Feathered Groups – 2 or more subjects or any combination of categories 15 -20.
  22. Animals – Realistic, proportioned, e.g. Deer, Rabbits, Dogs, Buffalo, (includes reptiles) etc.
  23. Aquatic Animals – Realistic, proportioned, e.g. Fish, Sea Mammals, etc.
  24. Animal Group – 2 or more subjects or any combination from categories 22 through 23.
  25. Carved Found Wood – Wood found in its natural habitat e.g. driftwood, roots, limbs, stumps, knots, etc.
  26. Stylized – Any subject that retains identity with minimal detail.
  27. Cottonwood Bark – Any carving made exclusively from cottonwood bark (excludes base).
  28. Walking Sticks / Canes – Any style, any subject.
  29. Cypress Knee – Complete knee, any subject, any size. No inserts, attached or glued are allowed.
  30. Chip Carving – Precise, regular, triangular, or wedge-shaped chips of wood to form engraved patterns.
  31. Relief Carving – Dimensional images carved in the front of a flat surface or background
  32. Pyrography – Divided into categories Wood (painted or natural), Leather, Gourds, Paper, Misc.
  33. Miniature – Any style, any subject. Carving (including base) must fit inside a 2-inch cube.
  34. Miscellaneous – Wood carvings not listed in any other category.
  35. Swap – Any style, size, or subject, painted or natural.
  36. Youth -This new category has been added to encourage young carvers to expand their skills by participating in organized competitions at a level appropriate for their age group. Age groups are 11 and under, 12 to 14, and 15 to 17. There will be no entry fee for youth contestants. (This Category Only).
  37. IWCA Style Decoy Championship. Rules can be found at IWFCA.COM. Mail-ins must be received no later than Wednesday, October 23rd.

Please Note: Categories 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 may be divided into Local and IWCA. IWCA Decorative Live Size Non-floating rules apply along with advancement points awarded for novice and intermediate. Must be an IWCA member for IWCA categories. Rules at IWFCA.COM

Every category except 1, 32, 34, 35, and IWCA categories will be divided as:

PAINTED – Any entry where a pigmented finish is applied to the wood grain. Paint or washes on any surface designates the carving as painted, e.g., stain or paint on the bill of a duck will be judged as “painted”

NATURAL – Any entry that is uniform in natural wood grain, Non-pigmented clear coats, or sealants is allowed.

You cannot enter a division lower than the highest one you previously entered in a competition.

NOVICE – Open to carvers who have been carving for less than five years and have not won Best of Novice, Best of Intermediate, or Best of Open at any carving competition. A carver who has won Best of Novice at any carving competition must enter carving(s) in the INTERMEDIATE or OPEN division.

INTERMEDIATE – Open to carvers who have not won Best of Intermediate or Best of Open at any carving competition. A carver who has won Best of Intermediate at any carving competition must enter carving(s) in the Open division.

OPEN – Open to carvers who want to compete at the highest level at this competition.

There will be great carvings at the raffle for $1 a ticket or 6 for $5, etc.

If any contestant attending the show would like to donate a small carving to our cause, we will gladly accept it. Just bring it to the show and give it to the folks at the raffle table during registration. The drawing will be about 2:30 PM on Saturday, 22nd. You do not have to be present to win as long as your name and phone number are written on the ticket. Winners are required to make arrangements to pick up their carving.

First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention ribbons will be awarded in each category.

Best of Novice:
1st $75, 2nd $50, 3rd $25

Best of Intermediate:
1st $125, 2nd $100, 3rd $75

Best of Open:
1st $350, 2nd $250, 3rd $150

Special Prize Sponsored by

Klingspor's Woodworking Shop

Best of Show $500

Best of Show Theme (category 1)
Best of Open $75
Best of Intermediate $50
Best of Novice $25

Best of IWCA Style Decoy Championship
1st $300, 2nd $200, 3rd $100

SEPA Awards
Best of Pyrography Open $150
Best of Pyrography Intermediate $100
Best of Pyrography Novice $50

Wood Carving
Woodcarving
Wood Turning
Woodturning
Demos
Demos

North Carolina wood carving clubs are present each year offering FREE demos and expert advice. Some clubs may have a booth with displays and more club information. If you have a hobby in wood turning, don’t miss the expansive wood turning offering with clubs and FREE demos. We know you enjoyed Michele Parsons, Wood Aristry, wood burning demos! Each Woodworking Extravaganza has woodworking related demos that go beyond only wood carving or turning.

Learn more about the woodworking clubs that have participated in past Extravangazas by visiting our Woodworking Clubs page.

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