Familiar faces are returning to Hope to wow visitors and locals with their epic chainsaw carving skills.
Hope's world renowned World Class Chainsaw Carving competition is swinging back into town with 13 competitors eager to leave their mark on the community.
This year's carvers are: Mark Colp, Ryan Villiers, Chris Foltz, Brigette Lochhead, Tyler Welfing, Benji Waretini-Hemara, Hannu Yliruusi, Shea Larking, Jesse Toso, Porter Foltz, Marina Cole, and Levi Caya.
All of the carvers competed in the 2023 chainsaw carving competition in Hope. Last competition's winning entry, for the Pro-Carver class, was Villiers' carving of a mountain lion and her cub trying to catching a salmon. Villiers also took home the People's Choice award.
Second place and third place went to Foltz and Waretini-Hemara. Foltz earned the title with his carving of two Canadian geese taking flight, and Waretini-Hemara got third with his carving of two horses jumping over a fence.
In the Carver class, first place went to Welfing, who created an eagle in flight with a salmon jumping in the river. Yliruusi took home second place with his carving of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
From Aug. 14 to Aug. 17, at Memorial Park, visitors and locals will get the chance to witness these talented artists use their imagination to show off their chainsaw carving skills. Starting at 8 a.m. each day, attendees will be able to peruse a variety of vendors, and food trucks, while also watching the carvers compete 鈥� who have from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and then 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, to complete their work.
This year, the large auction carving 鈥� where people will get the chance to purchases the carvers' competition entries 鈥� will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. Voting for the People's Choice Award will also run that day from 9 am. to noon. During the 2023 event, Villiers' entry won the People's Choice and sold for an impressive $8,500. This made it the most expensive large carving sold at a Hope competition.
Those looking for something a little faster will be able to watch the contestants participate in a Speed Carving competition all three days from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this event, the contestants will race against the clock to create a quick carving. Afterwards, people will get the chance to bid and purchase the creations during the Speed Carving Auction, which takes place right after at 1:30 p.m.
Visitors can shop for handmade and unique wares at the Chamber Market in the Park, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m, and purchases food from the food trucks on-site. The carvers will also be selling their art throughout the competition.
For those with little ones, on Saturday two booths 鈥� Kids鈥� Outdoor Learning Centre (from noon till 2 p.m.) and the Kids鈥� Birdhouse Painting (from 11:15 a.m. till supplies run out) 鈥� will be available for kids to explore.
For this year鈥檚 competition, the carvers' finished pieces will be judged by Dr. Rob Forde, Steve Backus, and Peter Scherle.
More information about the chainsaw competition, its carvers, and the complete schedule can be found in the Aug. 8 edition of The Hope Standard.
