Crowds enjoy the festival in Olive Hill on Saturday. (Photo by Charles Romans, Carter County Times)
By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Hometown Harvest Festival gathered in patrons and artisans from the local area and across the region. Not only that, but one artist who does chainsaw carvings, Patrick Barrigar, came all the way from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to be in Olive Hill on Saturday, October 3. Barrigar said that Jennifer from the Olive Hill Chamber of Commerce found him on the web, and he responded quickly to the invitation to join the festivities at Hometown Harvest. Barrigar is the artist responsible for the chainsaw carved geese that were available for purchase at the event as part of a chamber fundraiser.
Barrigar made the 11- hour jaunt from Michigan, bringing along the various saws and trimmers with which he plies his craft.
“I have been doing this for about four years,” he said. “And I have been doing carving for two years full time.”
Most of the carving on the geese is done with a 12-inch bar chainsaw, Barrigar said, though for other carved artwork the size of the saw may vary as well as whether or not a grinder is needed.
“I like to use white pine,” he said of his preferred medium. “Mainly because it is pretty plentiful around where we live.”
He also likes white pine because it is durable as well, with a typical untreated white pine carving being able to survive two or three years out in the elements.
“But if you paint or seal it, then keep up the maintenance, it could last you a lifetime,” Barrigar said.
Barrigar laughed and added that the wooden carved geese are also much lighter that the concrete variety people display in their yards.
“And wooden geese are making a comeback,” he said, which was one of the reasons the chamber chose to use them for their fundraiser.
Geese, though popular, are not the only carvings that Barrigar does.
“We do mainly wildlife, but the sky’s the limit” he said. “We have done Woody from Toy Story, six-foot sea horses, and all sorts of crazier stuff. We can make pretty much anything you could think of.” For those who are interested but weren’t able to attend the event, Barrigar has a Facebook page where you can order online. And of course, the Olive Hill Chamber is an excellent source for the carved geese.
Critter Springs Creations was another vendor present at the festival. Christy Slone, with help from Sean Mitchell, set up a booth at the event and brought 3-D creations to the Depot in Olive Hill. They did not come quite as far to attend as Barrigar, but are locals from Morehead in the Haldeman area. Slone said she has been doing her craft since last year and completely loves it.
Slone says she mostly does 3-D printing, but also carries what she calls “squishies.” Dominating her booth table was a four foot seven inch dragon, which sells for $150 and takes four days to print. Most of her other creations have a lighter price tag, she said, but most are not the size of her signature piece. Anyone wishing to check out the variety of things she makes can visit her Facebook page or come to her Peddler’s Mall booths in Morehead and Lexington.
Chainsaw carving and 3-D creations were just a couple of the vendors present at the Hometown Harvest. There was also face painting, games, and food as well. All the things that local residents enjoy when celebrating the end of summer.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
