Wood Expo

Wood Expo

A message from Sunshine Community Forest

Hello Past and Potential Wood Expo Participants,

In the midst of the current provincial public health emergency, we have been trying to determine what form Wood Expo 2020 will take. Currently public events indoor and outdoor must have 50 people or less and this is not expected to change for a year or more. Based on last year’s attendance, by the time we account for vendors and a few of our volunteers to man the door and sanitize surfaces etc. we would be able to have about 20 visitors at a time. Over an 8-hour event that would allow each visitor to stay for about 9 minutes which is clearly not enough time for the kind of experience we want at Wood Expo.

For a period we thought we would not be able to have Wood Expo at all, and we started a conversation with Coast TV about the possibility of doing a televised event, possibly in conjunction with an online auction. Our goal with Wood Expo is to provide an opportunity for woodcrafters and wood artists to connect with our community, to engage the public interest in this craft, and to generate sales as well as inspire each other. My vision of a televised event includes short films with woodcrafters in their workshops and Coast TV is interested in filming these. They would air them all on the day of Wood Expo whether or not we have an online auction, but also periodically before and after so they may be a real asset.

Thank you,

Sara Zieleman

Administrator

Sechelt Community Projects Inc.

dba Sunshine Coast Community Forest

PO Box 215

Unit C – 5588 Inlet Avenue

Sechelt, BC V0N 3A0

Phone: (604) 885-7809

Summer Event

SUNCOAST WOODCRAFTERS GUILD: WOOD EXPO 2020
This year's Wood Expo was a bit of a roller coaster ride. Initially, with COVID restrictions it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Then when the social gathering protocols loosened, Sunshine Coast Community Forest was able to contract for Seaside Center. Even then there were major obstacles for them as well as us, with a limit of two tables and only two volunteers.

With less then a month to go, Seaside Center was seconded by the Provincial Government for COVID testing. It looked like there was no other venue that was suitable, but Sara Zieleman, the Community Forest Administrator, looked at Rockwood Center and decided they could make it happen.

Kudos to Sara and Dave Lasser, Community Forest Operations Manager, for pulling it all together in record time!

COVID protocols were in place and I think everyone felt safe; sanitizing was ongoing through the day, and everyone was masked, logged in, and basically guided through the exhibits. Attendance was probably 1/3 of our usual turnout, but it was steady from 10:00AM till closing at 5:00PM.

We were initially scheduled to share the large meeting room with Patrick Skydde but he unfortunately had to drop out for personal reasons. Brian Klassen, the ship and marine map modeler, took his spot. It worked well for both parties. A huge 'thank you!' to our members that participated. We were able to utilize 5 banquet tables, one more than our exhibit last year. With the extra table we were able to space things out a bit more generously which I think made for a better exhibit.

Tim Dayton, Ron Johnson, Patrick Crawford, Ken Walker and I manned the tablesin shifts. Tim did a great job with photos; proof that it really happened!

Once again, the Guild's appreciation goes out to the members that took the time to bring in their projects; can't do it without you.

My impression was that the Community Forest folks were very pleased with the event as well as the venue.

-Dan Chercover, Board Member