St. Paul is hosting the world’s top woodturners

ARTS

Symposium to be at RiverCentre later this week

Woodturner Janice Levi demonstrates the craft at the 2024 International Woodturning Symposium, held in Portland, Ore. This year’s symposium, billed as the largest such event for woodturners in the world, will be held this week at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. ANDI WOLFE — AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WOODTURNERS

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By Jared Kaufman

jkaufman@pioneerpress.com

The International Woodturning Symposium, billed as the world’s largest gathering of woodturners, is spinning into St. Paul at the RiverCentre this week with a variety of free activities open to the public.

The annual event is organized by the American Association of Woodturners, which is based in St. Paul and operates the Gallery of Wood Art at Landmark Center, but the symposium is typically held in a different city each year: This is only the third time in the organization’s nearly 40-year history that the gathering has been held in St. Paul.

For those who are green to woodturning, the craft involves making items like bowls, pens and other decorative or functional objects on a lathe, a machine not unlike a pottery wheel that spins wood at high speeds while the woodturner uses carving tools to shape the item.

The symposium at RiverCentre, which officially begins Thursday but most activities run Friday through Sunday, is partially free to attend.

Visitors can reserve a wristband online or pick one up at the registration desk at no cost to visit the vendor marketplace and a massive exhibition gallery of wood art from woodturners around the world. Saskatchewan woodturner Michael Hosulak will give a free artist talk at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the main gallery hall.

In the free zone, there’ll also be an interactive turning station, where expert woodturners will guide visitors — no matter their experience level — in creating their own wooden pen from a kit purchased on-site. This is open to the public with no pre-registration required.

Expert woodturners will also be giving demonstrations on various skills and techniques, but those are not included with the free wristband. Registration to access these more specialized workshops are $242 per day or $425 for the weekend and can be purchased online.

These demos will be presented by woodturners from Australia, France, elsewhere in the U.S. and several from Minnesota, including Jim Sannerud of Grand Marais, Phil Holton of Eagan and Jeff Luedloff of Shakopee.

The symposium, including the free trade show and gallery, is open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at RiverCentre; 175 W. Kellogg Blvd. More info at aawsymposium.org.