The 16th Annual Long Island Woodworking Show

Here we are!

Two weekends ago, I was lucky enough to take my three (3) sons to the Long Island Woodworkers 16th Annual Woodworking Show at the Old Bethpage Village Fairgrounds.

Entering the show.

This is the 6th or 7th year in a row that I’ve attended the Long Island Woodworker’s Show and they’ve found their rhythm as far as size, exhibitors and venue. Since I’ve been going to the show I’ve seen it migrate from Sports Plus (a now defunct large entertainment venue) to Hofstra University to an American Legion Hall (a space so cramped with woodworking that you could barely walk) to the Old Bethpage Village Fairgrounds.

The wonderful timber framed barn that houses the show.

The building the show is in now is just the right size and certainly the right atmosphere. It’s a large, beautiful, timber framed barn, perfect for a woodworking show.

The show itself is made up of member exhibits, vendors and special interest displays. The Long Island Woodworking Club’s special interest groups are the L.I. Scrollsaw Association, the L.I. Woodturner’s Guild, the L.I. Cabinet & Furniture Makers and the Secret Society of Woodcarvers. Each special interest group (at least is seems like each, but I didn’t check) has a corner of the building where they give live demonstrations and talk up their craft.

Whats a woodworking show without Woodmizer?

The vendors aren’t the boutique shops you’ll see at Woodworking in America or the generic guys you’ll see at the Woodworking & D.I.Y. Shows. They were all medium sized and somewhat local. The ones I spend the most time with were Lakeshore Hardwoods and the member used tool sale.

A great photo, taken by Tom McKenna of Robert
having Toms son draw a raffle winner.

While I spent a good deal of my time chasing my kids around and trying to get them enthusiastic about this joint or that finish, the highlight was the wonderful chat I had with Robert of the Long Island Woodworker’s Club. He let my boys draw a raffle winner, and as I learned in Saratoga, he’s a great guy to talk too.

This cookbook rack was my favorite of the member gallery.

Unfortunately, I missed seeing Fine Woodworking’s Tom McKenna. Matt Kenney gave me a heads up that Tom was visiting the show, and it looks like he had a good time too. Check out his post about the Long Island Woodworkers Show here.

You can see my entire Long Island Woodworkers 16th Annual Woodworking Show Picasa gallery here.

Have you found your local woodworking show and discovered who you need to talk to there?