Georgia Association of Woodturners – Turning Southern Style 2018

The Georgia Association of Woodturners (GAW) presents its annual “Turning Southern Style” symposium. This year’s event will again be held at the Dalton Convention Center in Dalton, GA. With our impressive slate of demonstrators, a large group of vendors, and a great facility, this promises to be one of the largest, most informative and enjoyable symposiums in our 23 year history.

NEW THIS YEAR – SPECIAL INTEREST NIGHT
After the rotations end on Friday, you are invited to avoid the Friday night restaurant crowds by staying at the Convention Center for dinner, socializing, and several 90 minute special interest sessions. Dinner will be an Italian Buffet including entree, vegetarian entree, bread, salad, tea, & water.

Dinner tickets are $17.50 each. CASH bar available. No cost for attending the sessions.
Special Interest Night details below.

Four Demonstration Rooms
Each demonstration room is walled off and insulated to eliminate “sound bleed” from the surrounding rooms. Three of the rooms are reserved for the featured and guest demonstrators. The 4th room is reserved for our vendor demonstrators who take the time to demonstrate and explain their tools before you make a purchase.

Instant Gallery
Always a favorite, the Instant Gallery will be open throughout the symposium. This large exhibit of wood turned art provides a unique opportunity for collectors to become acquainted with both new and well-known artists. Many works will be available for sale. For “turners”, the gallery is a great way to see what others have been up to. We invite each participant to display up to four pieces of his/her work for all to enjoy. Symposium attendees will vote on a People’s Choice winner who will be reimbursed up to $100 spent at any of the vendors during the symposium.

Vendor Trade Area
For those of you who need “just one more tool,” a special piece of wood, or need to replenish your shop supplies, we have plenty of vendors who can help you out. The Vendor Trade Area will be open during the entire symposium.

Banquet/Auction
A delicious banquet dinner will be served Saturday evening. The price of the banquet is included in your registration fee. Additional banquet tickets can be purchased for spouses or guests who are not registered to attend the demos. Immediately following the banquet, we will begin the auction, which will include turned pieces, tools, supplies and wood donated by our vendors, attendees and GAW members. All proceeds from the auction support continuing wood turning education through the GAW scholarship program. Each turner attending the symposium is encouraged to bring a turned piece (or anything you choose) to support the scholarship fund.

Youth Are Free
Each registered attendee can bring a youth (under the age of 18) free of charge. We will even buy them dinner at the Banquet.

Friday Night Activities ***NEW ***
4:30-5:30 P.M. Break after last demo – ****Vendors open during this time.

5:00-8:00 P.M. Cash bar open

5:30-6:30 P.M. Italian buffet (Tickets required)
*There will be reserved tables for a “Women in Turning” meet & greet.

7:00-8:30 P.M. Special interest sessions
Session 1: Segmenting with Pete Marken – Ever wonder how to make a Vortex bowl? Join Pete for a discussion on how the blanks are glued up and slicked, how the rings are made, and how they are all stacked together. Pete will also discuss the jigs and fixtures used.

Session 2: Selling your Work Q & A Panel – Bring your questions about selling at craft shows, galleries, and everything in between to be answered by our panel members. Panel members include Steve Pritchard, Nick Cook, & others.

Session 3: Newbies corner – This session offers new turners a chance to ask basic questions in a comfortable, low key atmosphere. Bring your beginner to intermediate level turning problems for our panel of experts to help solve. Panel members TBD.

Session 4: See What’s Trending at the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) – Drop in to learn about new initiatives and member benefits, including the brand new Demonstrator Direct online tool. Note: This session will be open from 5-5:30 & 7-8:00 P.M., so you can drop in earlier if you plan to attend one of the other sessions.

Vendor 1-on-1 Demos: Want to try before you buy? Some of our vendors are offering one-on-one product demos in their booths during this time. Look for more information on this page closer to the symposium.

Spouse/Guest Lounge
We have a reserved seating area at the Convention Center where spouses and guests can relax and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. There is no charge to use this area. We will also have a craft room where spouses and guests can work on their favorite hobbies or participate in several scheduled activities. (Information relating to the scheduled activities will be provided as we firm up the schedule, so watch this space!)

Beads of Courage – Reach for the Top *** NEW***
In the past, Turning Southern Style has supported Beads of Courage (BoC) by donating boxes and we encourage attendees to donate boxes again in 2018. However, our focus this year comes from Jean Gribbon, founder of BoC. She has suggested a partnership with Turning Southern Style to create artistic spinning tops which BoC will use for an upcoming fund raiser called Reach for the Top. The tops will highlight their connection with the woodturning community and their “arts in medicine” mission.

BOC guidelines for making boxes.

We encourage you to participate and help us create a truly amazing collection for this BoC fund raiser. Guidelines and inspiration can be found here.

***NEW*** For those that quilt or sew, and want to participate, here is an idea. Make a Beads of Courage bag. Here is a link to the instructions. Just make a bag, or two, or three and bring them to the symposium. We’ll put them on display and get them to kids that can use them.

For more information visit https://www.gawoodturner.org/symposium/.