Above: A headpiece in progress at Martin Keith Guitars of Woodstock, exhibiting at the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase this weekend.
If you love fine stringed instruments and the sweet sounds they make, come to Woodstock this weekend for the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase 2013 for a satiating banquet of fine performance and an in-depth look at the entirety of the creative processes involved.
It started with a party for just a handful of luthiers and friends, but instigator Baker Rorick was overwhelmed by the response and has been carefully growing the event ever since. Fifty hand-picked exhibitors are joined by their fellow aficionados. “(It’s) become a national, even international event. We have people come from Hawaii, Uganda, California and Istanbul. But I try to balance it and feature as many regional luthiers as possible,” Rorick told the Watershed Post in 2012.
Festivities begin Friday afternoon with the Tonewood Festival, a preview and shopping opportunity that’s designed with luthiers in mind but may also appeal to furniture makers and other woodcrafters. Saturday and Sunday, the festival will be in full swing, with continual live music, instruction and workshops, and an ongoing expo. Highlights for 2013 include Saturday night’s String Sampler Concert featuring Fingerstyle Circle and The Secret Trio at the Woodstock Playhouse, and Sunday morning’s ecumenical String Community Worship Service on the back lawn of the Bearsville Theater.
Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase 2013. Friday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, Oct. 27. Tonewood Festival to be held Friday from 12pm to 6pm; showcase Saturday and Sunday 11am to 6pm. Events will be held at the Woodstock Playhouse and the Bearsville Theater, with a free afterparty at the Colony Café Sunday evening. General admission $20; two-day pass $30, Saturday night performance $30/40. For more information or to purchase advance tickets, visit the event’s webpage.
