New event celebrates Sisters' timber heritage

Sisters used to be a timber town.

Lumber mills dotted the landscape and many a young man got his start in life working in the woods for companies like Barclay Logging.

Times have changed, but wood products are still an important part of Sisters' culture and economy. Now, instead of raw timber and board lumber, Sisters turns out wood crafts, from furniture to sculpture.

Sisters will celebrate the full range of its heritage in wood with "From Timber to Turned Wood," a new event set for Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the future site of the new Sisters Village Hotel on Hood Avenue (just across the road from Les Schwab Tire Center).

The event, sponsored by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, will feature lumberjack expositions, wood artists, food and live music.

"We're trying to build on our off-season through various fun projects," said Erin Borla, chamber executive director. The idea is "to celebrate Sisters' history and where we are now as a community - honoring the past and enjoying the present."

The Roundhouse Foundation and Swiss Mountain Log Homes are the key sponsors of the event, which caps Sisters' celebration of the Oregon sesquicentennial.

There will be three lumberjack shows, each lasting 30 to 45 minutes and featuring logrolling, pole climbing, ax throwing and other demonstrations. The event goes on, rain, shine or snow. Art and music will be in a tent, but it wouldn't do to whine about weather in an event that celebrates a hardy heritage.

"It's the off-season," Borla said. "You have to expect anything. It's flannel weather. Dress like a lumberjack!"

There will be numerous art vendors. Music will be provided by Jim Cornelius and Lynn Woodward. From 2 to 3 p.m. local musicians are invited to break out their "ax" and join a "log jam."

For more information contact Jeri Buckmann at the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, 549-0251 or e-mail [email protected]