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SAW Conference 2000

The pivotal event for the year 2000 was the addition of SAW Conference to the list of scrolling events being held. This, our inaugural venture, event was held in Cedar Rapids, IA in early April.  A great deal of planning went into putting on this event and everything went rather smoothly.  In spite of "Mother Nature" attempting to side track the whole thing by putting on a winter display the day before. Vendors were setting up through a snow storm that accumulated to 6". 

Our visitors from the Southern states were dismayed by having to travel through this bizarre situation, but they also persevered and now they too can say that they survived the April Blizzard of 2000.

Patrick Spielman, John and Joyce Nelson, Dirk and Karen Boelman, were just a few of the scrollsaw authors in attendance. Fox Chapel Publishing and Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine also had booths at the event. As well as the major scrollsaw vendors, Hegner, RBI, PS Woods. RBI and PS Woods donated scrollsaws to be raffled off, and we had so many donated items for door prizes that Joe and Sarah Diveley were constantly announcing winners through the two days of the event.

John and Joyce Nelson taught a full day seminar on basic scrollsawing, Sheila Bergner ("Toys In The Attic") taught some basic tole painting. In addition seminars were given by Pat Spielman, Barry Gross, and renowned carver Kurt Curtis. 

SAW president Joan West can be duly proud of the results of all of her hard work in organizing and pulling this event together.

In May of 2000, SAW received notice from the Federal government that we had been granted 501(c) status. This was a goal that Jack Firse had worked tirelessly to achieve since 1997.

Tennessee Scrollsaw Picnic:

David and Rhonda Sloan (Sloan's Woodworking) joined the list of people hosting a Scrollsaw picnic by putting on this event in Lebanon, TN. I think they were a little surprised at the response that they received. Almost 600 people showed up for the day long event. And a surprise visit by Judy Gale Roberts and Jerry Booher was enjoyed by all.

This was an opportunity for a large group of people who had been chatting on the internet to finally meet each other in person for the first time. And they took advantage of the opportunity. David and Rhonda provided a meeting room on Friday night before the picnic and some of those folks just didn't want to leave and go to bed. The latest I heard of anyone staying was till 3 AM, and still they were up and at the picnic site by 8 AM. 

Cameras were running full tilt as you saw flash's going off all day long as people admired the brag tables and the vendors exhibits. This was a great event and we hope that David and Rhonda continue this for many years to come.

Pennsylvania Scrollsaw Picnic:

Back to the Grandaddy of them all. The Pennsylvania Scrollsaw Picnic where all of the picnic events originated from and the birthplace of the idea for the Scrollsaw Association of the World.  This was like coming home.

Dale Whisler put on another great event, in spite of the heat.  We met some old friends and made some new friends there. Richard Scarlett showed up to meet SAW and we found out why his pictures in Santa Claus costume look so authentic....he really is Santa Claus. So when you see a picture of Santa on the SAW site, be advised that Santa (AKA Richard Scarlett) is having just as much fun as anyone else who scrolls.

It was on the way home from this picnic, that the idea of SAW holding a contest at the picnics was born. An official contest. We had learned a lot from the two impromptu contests held at Joe Diveley's picnic in the past. Our first official contest was held at SAW Conference just this spring. But we needed to do a lot of planning and figure out how to make this work in a one-day event.  Work had begun from this point though.

Illinois Scrollsaw Picnic:

Joe and Sarah Diveley held their event in early August.  SAW sponsored a seminar at this event with a panel consisting of Patrick Speilman, Chuck Olson, and Pat Lupori to answer questions about scrolling in general. It was very well received, plus it gave people the opportunity to sit for an hour.  Pat was a last minute addition to the panel as the individual selected could not attend this picnic at the last minute. It was a situation where Pat was amongst some very "big" people in scrolling and felt like small potatoes. These people may have large names in the industry, but more genuine and nice people you will never meet. They made her feel welcome and a part of the panel right from the beginning.

In addition to the normal picnic events, Joe holds a dinner on the Friday before the start of the picnic.  Success breeds its own problems though as more than 100 people wanted to attend this dinner. But scrollers are some of the most gracious people on the face of this planet. All went very well, and everyone had a fantastic time. 

Camping together was the new part of this picnic. A large group of scrollers decided to all camp together at the picnic and turned a one day event into a three day party.  They brought their dogs, and firewood, and saws and camp chairs and generally invited anyone who wanted to to stop in and visit. 

California Scrollsaw Picnic:

Joanne and Max Lockwood hosted their second Scrollsaw picnic in Sacramento, CA. SAW had the opportunity to attend this event for the first time.  With very little advertising Joanne enticed over 300 people to show up and they all learned what a fantastic, energetic person Joanne is. Vernon Brown from Wooden Teddy Bear attended with ALL of his patterns, and we had the opportunity to see and purchase some of the best burl wood around from D & D Wood out of Cottonwood, CA. 

With Joanne's interest in Tole Painting, there was a lot more of that at this picnic than I have seen at any of the other picnics, and it was very interesting. Joanne and Pat Spielman judged a contest at this picnic also.  The contest was not advertised so the entry was small, but those entries were very well done. More conversation was held in the planning of SAW's future contests at these events.

Swedish Scrollsaw Picnic:

Gunnar Asplund hosted this event in Sweden.  We were unable to attend personally, but the pictures that Gunnar sent were magnificent.  It sounded like the Swedes know how to throw a party as well as the Americans. Their scrolling abilities are definitely up there with the very best.  Allers magazine and Hegner Corporation were just two of the vendors who attended and participated in the picnic.  Someday SAW will manage to send someone to participate also, but in the meantime we were happy to send some items for door prizes and to support Gunnar in holding the event. We also did our best to help advertise and spread the word to other scrollers who live a lot closer to there than we are. Great job Gunnar!