The Carving on the Edge Festival is back with a new date, new look and renewed creativity. This year's festival is planned for May 1-4 at the Tofino Community Hall.
The last festival took place in 2022, said Norma Dryden, a festival board member. "We had decided to do it biennial festivals, every two years so in between years we could focus on community projects. That was our intention," she said.
"We realized that gatherings and markets have changed in the last few years," particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival was traditionally held in September. and included workshops, a market for local and out-of-town carvers and a few community focused events. Funding applications didn't seem to follow the same schedule, she said, and community activities start to get busy in the fall. The festival has been split into spring and fall: May 1-4 with a community focus, and Oct. 3-5 with the show and market. A location has yet to be selected for the fall show, she said.
As part of the festival's strategic planning they created a creative committee made up of Indigenous carvers: Hjalmer Wenstob, Tim Masso, Joshua Watts and Valeen Jules. The four are from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on the west coast or other Nuu-chah-nulth nations.
"We agreed the best part of the festival is the gathering of the carvers," said Dryden. "The elder carvers continue to emphasize the gathering...with younger carvers."
The festival from the beginning has always been about the culture of carving, said Wenstob. "We're all artists and carvers," he said of the creative committee. When they were asked how they envision the festival moving forward, Wenstob said he recalled something board member Tim Paul said. Paul is a veteran carver and at the raising of a totem pole he worked on a few summers ago, he asked all the young carvers to stand up.
"He said we've had our time, now it's time for us to pass on all we have learned. He said it as a reminder to all of us. That is how the committee arrived at the theme "Coming Together to Carve."
Masso and Jules in the past couple of years have carved their first dugout canoes—considered a pivotal point in one's life, Wenstob said. The two are emerging artists: Masso is a teacher and language advocate, and used his canoe project to share his Nuu-chah-nulth language. Jules, with Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka'wakw influences, created their canoe with a focus on holding space for queer voices.
Participants will learn more about "first canoes" in one session.
In past festivals there were structured workshops, such as the bentwood box workshop. Dryden and Wenstob said the activities have happened organically with the spring festival: some carvers will be speaking about their experiences carving their first dugout canoe, others agreed to hold bentwood box demonstrations.
The community hall was chosen because it's a central location where people can gather. A carving area will be set up and artists are invited to come and carve throughout the weekend.
Wenstob will take care of the community log drum project. This year he has included schools, with students coming to help carve on the drum on Friday. Members of the public will have the opportunity to try carving parts of the drum throughout the weekend, Dryden added.
"We want the next generation of young kids that want to learn but they don't have those opportunities," said Wenstob. Of the groups invited to carve the drum on Friday will be a group of students from Oregon State that happen to have planned a trip to the area at the same time, he said.
Five artists have been commissioned to create art pieces for the upcoming fall show, Dryden said. "The market is very, very important to the carving community; it's part of the survival of a carver to be able to market their work. At the same time the group wanted to focus on how the carvers communicate with one another."
Carving on the Edge takes place at Tofino Community Hall (368 Main St.). Opening ceremonies are from 5-8 p.m. on May 1, events taking place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 1-4.
For an itinerary of events, or for those looking to volunteer with the festival, go online to www.carvingedgefestival.com.
