No toys are ever left
behind at the Kamloops Woodworkers Guild Show and Sale.
“It is captivating to see children work with our members on assembling a wooden toy and then proudly show it
to their parents,” says event chairman Ron Hatch. “These toys are never found lying around after the show is
finished and things cleaned up. I am sure they are taken home as treasured keepsakes.”
This is the show’s sixth year and Hatch says its popularity has grown with each one. Taking place at the
Hotel 540 (formerly the Executive Inn), it features displays, exhibits, demonstrations and competitions for
local craftsmen from the Thompson Rivers-Shuswap region. Highlights include custom furniture building,
refinishing, lathe work for spindle and faceplate turning, scroll and band saw projects, intarsia and carving
— round, chip, relief and native. Additionally, there are special exhibits by students attending the local
high schools and demonstrations on making wooden toys and games, which is great for the kids. And don’t miss
the birdhouse competition or the lathe and scroll saw demonstrations, which are always popular!
“The variety and quality of the workmanship from local craftsmen is impressive,” says Hatch. “Their
enthusiasm is always contagious.”
Also contagious is the warmheartedness of the Kamloops Woodworkers Guild. The Show and Sale is a major event
to promote its goal of community service. The guild sponsors an annual scholarship at Thompson Rivers
University, the McQueen Lake Environmental Centre and NPOs in the city. Many toys and materials are donated
to community charities and relief agencies, too: Toys made by guild members have found their way into more
than 30 countries.
Come out to Kamloops to not only find unique crafts, but support an exemplary cause. Along with that, allow
your kids to appreciate the hard, manual labour it takes to create some of our simplest furnishings, and let
yourself get lost in the wonders of an age-old craft.
05 The Kamloops Woodworkers Guild
Sixth Annual Show and Sale, Nov 5-7, Hotel 540, kwwg.net
