High school students prepare for competition, vendors return to festival

Sedro-Woolley High School students are adding the final touches to their carpentry work that will be submitted this weekend for the 14th annual WoodFest.

The event returns to an earlier date of April 5 and 6 this year and will be held at the Sedro-Woolley High School gymnasium. WoodFest is a sanctioned event of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and will bring many people to Sedro-Woolley, said David Bricka, Sedro-Woolley Chamber of Commerce executive director.

Stanwood, Auburn and Sedro-Woolley high school students will participate in the woodworking competition.

Students typically enter basic furniture and cabinetry into the competition, said Mike Stewart, Sedro-Woolley High School woodworking teacher. Stewart helps coordinate the student competition at WoodFest.

“A lot of students are making things that will be heirlooms,” he said.
Sedro-Woolley High School senior Klaye Kitchen and junior Ryan Gugel will compete in their second year at Woodfest. Kitchen is entering a four-piece furniture set and Gugel will enter a large dresser.

Kitchen and Gugel said an interesting part of the competition is seeing other students’ projects and how the quality of their projects compare. Woodworking is challenging, Kitchen said.

“It always keeps you thinking and coming up with new ideas,” he said.
Gugel said it took him all of fall semester to complete his dresser. The hardest parts of the project were carving out the dovetails — the section connecting the pieces of the dresser drawers together— and the raised panels on the front of the drawers.

Everyone seems to have fun at the competition, Gugel said. It’s interesting to see what other people have done and share tips and techniques with each other, he said.

Professionals from the Northwest Corner Woodworkers Association — a woodworking organization consisting of working and retired woodworking professionals and serious hobbyists — will judge the competition.

The student with the highest score will receive first place. First through fifth will receive power tools and sixth through 10th will receive hand tools. There are two other special selections like the people’s choice and the judges’ choice awards.

The atmosphere at the competition is like a sports game, Kitchen said.
“You don’t know how the judges are going to score you and you don’t know if your performance is good enough to meet the standards of the judges,” Kitchen said. “It’s kind of suspenseful in a way.”

Stewart said Kitchen and Gugel are some of his most skilled woodworking students at the high school. They still have room to grow but their skill levels are at a higher degree than most students, he said.

They come to the woodworking shop before and after school, Stewart said.

“Both of these guys have a high enthusiasm (for woodworking) and have tried to be creative with their own designs,” he said.

Besides the student competition, another highlight of WoodFest this year is the return of the vendors and display booths. Vendors will include a range of chain-saw carvers and other types of wood-working artisans.
In addition, educational exhibits, a silent auction and the raffling of a 50-inch chain-saw carving will be featured.

WoodFest will be a great opportunity for people attending the tulip festival to learn about other events in Sedro-Woolley like Blast from the Past and Loggerodeo, Bricka said. WoodFest is going to be a great experience, he said.

The Sedro-Woolley community really supports WoodFest, Stewart said. It’s a celebration of wood and the community which originated from the timber and lumber industries, he said.

“I’m glad we have a festival that celebrates wood,” Stewart said. “If you love woodworking, (WoodFest) is a great place to be.”