The Berkshire Woodworkers Guild's Labor Day Show
Live demonstrations run from stitch-and-glue boat building to shave horse technique, with proceeds funding the next generation of craftspeople.
Saturday–Sunday, September 5–6, 9am–5pm | Stockbridge, MA
The Berkshire Woodworkers Guild holds its 26th Annual Fine Woodwork Show and Silent Auction at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Labor Day weekend, bringing together 36 Guild artisans for two days of exhibited furniture, live demonstrations, and a silent auction that funds the organization's scholarship program.
The demonstration schedule runs continuously both days, covering a r wide range of technique: shave horse work and wood species identification, making chair parts from green wood, stitch-and-glue boat building, wood spoon carving, French polishing with shellac, hand-cut dovetails, lock mortise and hinge installation, and lathe turning. Exhibitors include Vinny Vienneau, John Osthoff Guitars, Daniel Schneider Furniture, Peter Thorne Furniture & Design, David Douyard Chairmaker, and Andrew Jack Chairs, among 30 others, alongside 2025 scholarship recipient Madison Faulconer.
The Silent Auction is the financial engine behind the whole event. Guild members donate handmade wooden pieces—turned vessels, sculptural work, custom furniture—with 100% of proceeds going to the Guild's Educational Scholarship Fund. Since the fund's inception in 1998, the Guild has awarded $156,000 to 63 recipients, including $116,000 distributed over just the past five years. This year's class of nine scholarship recipients will split $36,000, headed to programs at institutions including the North Bennet Street School in Boston, the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, and the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport.
Founded in 1998, the Guild is a nonprofit made up of 125 professional and amateur woodworkers across the Berkshires, New York, and Connecticut. Great Cape Baking Company will be on-site all weekend with breakfast, lunch, and coffee; Hot Plate Brewing Co. will be pouring craft beer.
Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road (Route 102), Stockbridge, MA. More at berkshirewoodworkers.org.
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After a decade of writing for RI (along with many other publications and organizations) Jamie took over as editor in 2025. He has a masters in journalism from NYU, a wonderful wife, two kids and a Carolina dog named Zelda.
