THIS Labour Day long weekend, the Maleny Wood Expo is set to go off with a dynamic program on offer to suit every member of the family!
From seed to fine furniture, the Maleny Wood Expo has everything from woodworking workshops and demonstrations, free talks on a range of sustainability and environmental topics, exhibitors displaying sustainably produced homewares, fine furniture and art, and there’s everything from tools and machinery for the avid woodworker, to sustainably harvested timber for sale, there’s even a Tiny House exhibit by Tiny Towns.
Local Platypus expert Neil Andison will be leading guided morning walks along the Obi Obi creek from 6.30am-8.30am to teach people about the important role trees have played in helping local populations of platypus to thrive, and once in the Wood Expo, people can enjoy a range of live entertainment sponsored by the Maleny Hotel.
At the centre of the Wood Expo though, is learning about and appreciating the art of woodworking, slow crafts and traditional practices, and seeing the outcome of years of dedication to these specialist skills.
Thanks to sponsorship from Sunshine Coast Council, Australian Woodsmith, Maleny Art Direct, Barung Landcare and Queensland Country Bank, the feature exhibition of the Wood Expo – the Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize, is set to impress and will be a tough one for the judges!
“This year we had the best response we’ve ever had to the Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize.” shares Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize coordinator Corrie Wright.
“The quality of the work is outstanding and we are thrilled to be able to put on such a beautiful exhibition where people can see, and purchase the work of some of the best fine furniture makers, woodworkers and up and coming artists”
Winners are announced on Friday the 28th of April. The exhibition will be held in the Main Pavilion at the Wood Expo.
In the Junior Landcare Paddock, children can take advantage of a rare opportunity to learn from an experienced network of woodworkers who are keen to pass their knowledge on to a younger generation! The Blackall Range Woodcrafters Guild, the Bayside Woodturners and Woodcrafters Club and Billinudgel Woodwork are running daily workshops for kids to learn a range of skills, including how to use tools while they construct their very own hand crafted mother’s day presents, toys, cool stools and model dinghies!
These workshops are made possible thanks to sponsorship from C&L Tool Centre, Woodwork Machinery Plus and Queensland Water and Land Carers.
BJ Murphy from Mimburi Dreaming will be hosting a range of family-friendly cultural workshops over the weekend too, including clapstick-making, piccapalm boats painted with locally harvested ochres and a traditional fire-making workshop.
A wonderful opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal culture and traditional uses of natural materials.
The Maleny Wood Expo is proudly hosted by Barung Landcare over the weekend April 29 – May 1, view the full program and book your tickets at
www.malenywoodexpo.com
