The Ontario Wood Carvers Association & Grand Valley Woodcarvers welcome all artists of wood-based art to our 2026 Magic In Wood Competition. Our volunteer personnel are from Tri-County Carvers, Guelph Carving Club and the Marquetry Society of Canada.
Competition Categories
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- JUNIOR: Competitors 12 yrs. old and under.
- YOUTH: Competitors 13 – 17 yrs. old.
NOTE: There is no entry fee charged for Junior & Youth levels. Any style carving and/or pyrography subject can be entered, including birds. Each of these two levels will be judged independently of all other skill levels. Ribbons will be awarded.
Categories with Three Skill Levels (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced)
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- NOVICE: A competitor who has never previously received three First Place Ribbons in any Competition or Best of Level and/or Best of Show in any competition.
- INTERMEDIATE: A competitor who has won three First Place Ribbons in any competition’s Novice or Level excluding Junior and Youth. Artist has the choice to forgo Novice entry to Intermediate level.
- ADVANCED: A competitor who has won three First Place Ribbons in any competition’s Intermediate Level or Best of Class in any Competition’s Intermediate Level. Artist has the choice to forgo Novice or Intermediate entry to go to Advanced level.
1) Carving in the Round – Human: Any human figure(s) carved in the round.
2) Carving in the Round – Animal: Any animal figure(s) (including fur bearing aquatic) carved in the
round. (Including fur bearing aquatic.)
3) Carving in the Round – Other: Any carving in the round that does not fall into the above 2 categories
or single level categories.
4) Relief Carving: Any subject carved in a high or low relief method.
5) Caricature: A carving which exaggerates or distorts some characteristic of a person or thing, usually in
an amusing manner.
6) Caricature Animal: A carving which
exaggerates or distorts some characteristic of
an animal, usually in an amusing manner.
7) Pyrography: Burned designs or pictures on wood only.
Categories with Two Skill Levels (Novice, Advanced)
1. NOVICE: A competitor who has never previously received three First Place Ribbons in any Competition or Best of Level and/or Best of Show in any competition.
2. ADVANCED: A competitor who has won three First Place Ribbons in any competition’s Novice or Intermediate or Single Level. Artist has the choice to forgo Novice entry to Advanced level.
8) Marquetry and Parquetry
a) Portrait
b) Applied (Advanced only)
9) Intarsia
10) Wood Art Advanced: (including Musical Instruments, furniture pieces,
toys/gadgets or other. Some metal fixtures allowed- tuning, etc.)
11) Chip Carving: Carvings in which knives are used to remove wood from a surface in a single
“chip”.
12) Cane: A carving on the handle or the body of a cane, walking stick or stave.
13) Fish & Aquatic Animals: Any carved fish(es) and/or water related animals
(excluding fur bearing), amphibians, reptiles, etc. Note: (May be split to Fresh and Salt
Water depending on entries)
14) Bark Carving: Any subject carved in tree bark.
15) Interpretive: Any subject carved in an abstract or stylized manner.
Skill Levels
1. JUNIOR: Competitors 12 yrs. old and under.
2. YOUTH: Competitors 13 – 17 yrs. old.
NOTE: There is no entry fee charged for Junior & Youth levels. Any style carving and/or pyrography subject can be entered, including birds. Each of these two levels will be judged independently of all other skill levels. Ribbons will be awarded.
3. NOVICE: A competitor who has never previously received a First Place Ribbon in any Competition.
4. INTERMEDIATE: A competitor who has won 3 First Place Ribbons in any competition’s Novice or Single Level. Artist has the choice to forgo Novice entry to Intermediate level.
5. ADVANCED: A competitor who has won 3 First Place Ribbons in any competition’s Intermediate Level or Best of Class in any Competition’s Intermediate Level.
Artist has the choice to forgo Intermediate entry to go to Advanced level.
Rules and Regulations
Submissions must be made of WOOD. Carvings may be painted or unpainted.
Pyrography pieces may contain some colour but should not be used to such a degree as to obscure the pyrography itself. Translucent colour in which the pyro work shows clearly through may be used. Any opaque colouring can be used sparingly in conjunction with the pyro piece but shall not be used to cover up the main body of work.
Eligibility of proposed submissions shall be at the discretion of the show committee at the time of submission. All carvings or pyrographic works must be hand produced by the entrant.
*NEW* Carvings that have not been entered in this show will be accepted regardless of completion date and must be of your own craftsmanship.
All entries must be submitted under one skill level only.
*UPDATED* The entry fee shall be $15.00 for the first entry and $12.00 for each additional entry.
Each competitor will be issued one complimentary pass to the show.
Carvers are encouraged to print the registration form, complete it and email an electronic copy to:
president@ontariowoodcarvers.com
Cheques can be mailed to the Grand Valley Woodcarvers in advance or paid at Registration.
PO Box 25011
Shoppers Drug Mart Postal Outlet
Kitchener, ON N2A 4A5
All submissions must be hand delivered to:
Manulife Sportsplex / RIM Park, Forbes Room, 2001 University Ave., East, Waterloo ON. Click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page for driving instructions with map.
Friday, June 5, 2026
Registration 9:00 am-8:00 pm
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Registration 7:30-9:30 am.
Judging begins at 10:00 am
NOTE: Although entries are happily accepted within the time frames above, we strongly urge you to submit your entries prior to noon on Friday when the show officially opens in order for the full viewing public to see your works.
No entries will be accepted once the judging has begun. The decision of the judges is final, and is at their discretion. Some prizes may not necessarily be awarded if the judges feel they are unwarranted.
All monetary awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners can be picked up after 3:00 pm, Sunday, June 7th.
Award distribution will commence at approx. 3:00 pm Sunday, June 7th. All entries may be picked up following the awards presentations between 4:00 and 4:30 pm.
The committee reserves the right to reassign any carving into an alternate category if it is deemed more appropriate for the submission or should the number of submissions in any given category not be a sufficient amount to warrant the inclusion of that category.
Best of Show shall be chosen from each of the various categories and those winners shall be eligible for the Best of Show award.
Competitors are required to supply their own stands should their submission require it for display purposes. No wall mounting is available.
Awards Structure
For more information contact John Lemay at president@ontariowoodcarvers.com
Click Here to download a Brochure in PDF format. ( Coming Soon! )
Click Here to download a Registration Form in PDF format.