Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute in Adrian to host Great Lakes Woodworking Festival

ADRIAN — There is anticipated to be a lot of hustle, bustle and excitement going on this weekend at the grounds of the PlaneWave Instruments Arts and Science campus in Adrian, 1375 N. Main St., as the Great Lakes Woodworking Festival comes to town for two days, Saturday and Sunday, June 17-18.

The festival, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute, which is at the PlaneWave campus, celebrates the artistry of woodworking and its relationship with nature, a news release said.

Throughout the weekend, there will be activities planned for people of all ages and exhibits from the region’s finest woodworkers as well as woodworking demonstrations and hands-on workshops.

Children 12 or younger, are admitted at no cost to the festival and must be accompanied by an adult in the kids corner. All other admission to the festival is $5 per person.

Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for both dates. Food trucks and live music are also planned.

Visitors can expect collections of handcrafted furniture, decorative objects and unique pieces, all crafted from sustainably sourced wood. People are also invited to talk with the woodworkers as “they are eager to share their inspirations and techniques with you,” the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute said.

“Get inspired by live demonstrations where skilled artists will show how to turn a simple piece of wood into a work of art, emphasizing the importance of responsible harvesting and conservation of our natural resources,” the institute said in a news release.

The festival will have a kids corner that will provide a space to learn about woodworking and environmental care. They will also be able to construct a marshmallow catapult out of wood.

Full-scale replica of Notre Dame de Paris’ Choir Truss No. 6 to be presented

One of the highlights for this year’s woodworking festival is a collaboration between the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute and Handshouse Studio of Norwell, Massachusetts, which will work together and present a full-scale replica of Notre Dame de Paris’ Choir Truss No. 6, one of the oldest trusses from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in France.

“Initiated to honor the cultural heritage lost in the 2019 fire that destroyed Notre Dame's timber roof and spire, the Notre Dame Project stands as a symbol of global solidarity with the craftspeople currently reconstructing the cathedral,” the release said.

The replica truss will be raised at noon Sunday, June 18. It will remain on display throughout the day.

A team of traditional carpenters, faculty and students reconstructed Notre Dame’s truss in Washington, D.C., in August 2021 during a 10-day workshop, using materials and methods of the original medieval builders, Handshouse Studio said in a news release.

In addition to the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute sponsoring the replica truss raising, Hardwoods of Michigan in Clinton is also a sponsor.

Participants are invited to help hand-raise the truss using pulling lines, but registration is required, the release said. To register, contact Luke Barnett, president of Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute, at 517-902-8383 or by emailing Luke@sambeaufordwoodshop.com.

Handshouse Studio — an educational organization that creates hands-on projects with communities and institutions around the world to focus on history, understand science and perpetuate the arts — is also bringing the La Forêt Model Project to the Adrian woodworking institute in the days leading up to the weekend festival. The project is a five-day interactive workshop where participants constructed a 1:10 scale model of Notre Dame’s timber roof frame and explored key features of the Gothic cathedral. It will be available for viewing during the entirety of the festival.

Notre Dame project representatives will be available to answer questions during the woodworking festival. Remarks about the projects will also be given.

“Collaboration is intrinsic to the effort to revive lost heritage,” Marie Brown, Handshouse executive director, said in the news release. “There is something about bringing our hearts and minds together through our hands, regenerating by hand something that was made by hand, remaking together something that we lost together; by getting into the mind of the original builders to reawaken their story through making.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Great Lakes Woodworking Festival coming to Adrian June 17 and June 18