Friday and Saturday (Aug 21-22) 2026, the Santa Clara Valley Carvers were back at the Santa Clara County Fair in San Jose. We set up our booth and demonstrated whittling and woodcarving from 1 pm to 6 pm both days in the Fiesta Hall building at the fairgrounds. It was the club’s first fair in over 10 years, and Dan Brady, David Clarke, David Osterlund, Nitin Varshney, and Roman Chernikov staffed the booth.
Our display tables were packed with members’ work in all sorts of styles. Whimsical gnomes, Santas and Vikings galore, a carved eagle and a duck, a couple of decorative spoons, chip-carved plates, and painted fish filled the tables. The centerpiece was a huge wooden chain hanging on the wire mesh screen behind the tables, with several smaller chains across the cloths.
A Day at the County Fair
The Santa Clara County Fair is a huge event. The long midway was alive under a clear blue sky, filled with rides, games, funnel cakes, and ice cream. In the livestock barn, cattle, pigs, ducks, and rabbits drew large crowds. Pig races, dancing, and the miniature train ran throughout the week.
The Woodcarving Booth
Our booth was active for only two of the five days of the fair, with five members of our woodcarving club on hand over the weekend to whittle, carve, and talk about the craft with the public. They happily answered questions and handed out flyers to anyone interested. A banner and a carved wooden sign identified our group as part of the California Carvers Guild.
Right in Fiesta Hall with all the other exhibits, our stand was absolutely popular. Hundreds of visitors came by to see the work in progress. By the end of the weekend, we had 15 subscribers to our woodcarving newsletter, and one person had joined the club. After a brief mentorship session on the basic cuts, our newest member has already started carving a pumpkin—a great example of how quickly a beginner can get started with a little guidance.
You can see more of the fair at thefair.org. The organizers have also assembled a wonderful Fair Highlights 2026 photo album.
A Community of Crafters
The fair is always a great gathering of makers. We were pleased to be alongside Charles and Somer Johnson of White Rose Forge (a father-and-daughter blacksmithing team from Visalia, CA), who demonstrated traditional blacksmithing.
Other adjacent displays included a nice range of marine-themed crochet blankets and an exhibit from the Fairgrounds Heritage Foundation, which featured many vintage items and an aerial photo of the fair’s first annual show in 1941.
Our tables of hand-carved wooden figurines and ornaments complemented well with the other traditional crafts.
Thanks
We want to thank the fair organizers for having us, with a special thanks to Shea De’Arman (Exhibits Manager for Fiesta Hall). Shea helped a lot with the paperwork and even helped us set up our tables. As our demo was wrapping up, he stopped by to join us for a group photo.
If you’d like to see our work up close, we invite you to come and visit the club. Guests are always welcome during our carving hours (times and locations are listed on our home page). You can also subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with our latest projects and adventures.
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