At Woodapalooza, You Can Look AND Touch

Ever wish you could go to a museum where you could touch every exhibit?

Not all art is just for looking. And at a new festival this weekend in South Whidbey Community Park, you'll be able to see--and touch--for yourself.

This weekend kicks of Woodapalooza, a weekend long celebration of woodworking in the region hosted by the Whidbey Island Woodworkers Guild. Featuring 20 artists over the course of the three-day event, the event is a great chance to meet some local artists and get to know their work on an intimate level.

This is a particularly unique opportunity because woodworkers are notoriously known for their privacy. “Most of the world doesn't know we exist,” guild spokesman Gary A. Leake said in an article on HeraldNet.com.

“My son's friends come over and they say, ‘Wow, your dad does this?' And they want to know all about it and he says, ‘Let's go play video games,'” said Pat McVay, one of the artists. “Same thing from my wife. Oh, just another sculpture.”

Here are just a few examples of pieces you might find at Woodapalooza:

A sculpture of man dining at a table wipes his face with a napkin. Two statues in a wine garden gossip. The life-sized carving of Babe Ruth is posed ready to slam a ball, right down to the action wrinkles in his uniform.

A man thrown backward by a tsunami of junkmail from a mailbox is a whimsical favorite in Clinton. It's by the post office.

“Woodpalooza” is noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with a reception 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, Zech Hall, 565 Camano Ave., Langley.

Admission is free.

For more information: www.woodpalooza.com.