The Maleny Wood Expo

The Maleny Wood Expo is an annual celebration of the wonderful world of wood.

Visitors can enjoy a relaxed weekend at the picturesque Maleny Showgrounds in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland on May 2 and May 3.

Maleny Wood Expo is one of those rare events with ‘something for everyone’, whether you’re a collector of fine woodwork, a woodworker yourself or just looking for two days of clean country fun for the whole family.

This unique event celebrates our rich timber heritage and everything wood – from chainsaws to fine furniture – by showcasing the work of regional wood artisans working in sustainably harvested native timbers, weed or recycled timbers.

Hosted by Barung Landcare, the event was born from the vision to promote sustainable use of our beautiful native timbers while protecting this natural resource for future generations. The Wood Expo tells the whole timber story – from seed collection and planting forests, harvesting and milling through to the end product.

Bring your children along to Carbatec’s Kids Space Workshop! The Kids Space Workshop is run by experienced woodworker Carol Russell. Here they can build their very own simple Wooden Toolbox or visit our Colouring-in Station.

Plus children can join the “Cool Stool School” where kids get to make a stool to take home using traditional tools and techniques.

Give your kids a chance to have hands on experience of woodworking with skilled supervision, using real tools from real workshops, and then go home with a truly useful result to be proud of. These workshops are open to children seven years & over. They will be guided in a class of 6 to make and personalise an ever so useful stool.

Find an inspirational piece to transform your home or take home the perfect piece of timber for that DIY project. The 2015 Wootha Prize theme is ‘Planting the Seed’. The exhibition is the end product of a prestigious competition that attracts entries from woodworkers and sculptors Australia wide.

As with other Expo woodwork, all Wootha entries must be made from sustainably harvested native timbers, weed or recycled timbers Visitors can enjoy demonstrations of heritage crafts such as cross-cut saw racing as well as mobile milling, woodworking for women, chainsaw carving, wood turning, tool displays from our heritage days to the latest wood carving innovation and technology.

Sharpen your skills at one of the popular WoodShed Workshops. This year’s program includes Hand Held Carving with Master Carver Don Powell, Diddley Bow Making with blues duo Eb’n’Flo, Long and Short board Skateboard Deck Making with wooden surfboard shaper Steve-o, and Construct a Milk Stool using the technique of mortise and tenon with Richard Knight.

Want to take home your own bespoke woven basket? Join local sculptor and installation artist Kris Martin, for a workshop ‘Weaving with Cat’s Claw – a Weed of National Significance’. Learn how to transform an environmental problem into a beneficial solution.

And when you’re ready for a break, simply soak up the country atmosphere. Pull up a hay bale and enjoy a Landcare burger or a Montville Coffee Fair Trade latte. And the sustainability theme flows throughout the event. Barung’s Nursery offers visitors the opportunity to purchase local native plants to create habitat for local fauna.

Visit Natural Resource Management displays to learn more about the region’s environmental initiatives.

Take home some local boutique produce including woodfired breads, bush tucker and cheeses from the Taste Maleny Produce exhibits. Plus there’s live music, free entertainment for the kids including Kids Woodworking Sessions and a monster raffle with prizes that everyone will love.

Admission is $15 for adults and $12 for Concession holders. Youth under 16 enter for free. All tickets include free parking.

The Maleny Wood Expo is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland as part of a dynamic calendar of events throughout the state.

For more information on the Maleny Wood Expo visit malenywoodexpo.com.