Chetwynd "Chainsaw Sculpture Capitol of the World".
Chetwynd was once known as “Little Prairie” but with the coming of the Pacific Great Eastern Railroad in 1957, the name of the community was changed to Chetwynd in honor of the Minister in charge of railroads, Ralph Chetwynd. In 1962 Chetwynd became incorporated as a Village and has approximately 2,500 residents.
Each year in June, Chetwynd holds its annual
Chetwynd International Chainsaw Carving Championship where master chainsaw carvers from around the world compete. There are now around 200 chainsaw carvings displayed throughout the community.
Chetwynd International Chainsaw Carving Championship began with the commissioning in December, 1990 of a chainsaw carving of three bears to master carver, Terry McKinnon from Vancouver. The bears grace the Chetwynd welcome sign along Highway 97. That commission, and the staging of a chainsaw carving competition in 1992 were part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the creation of the Alaska Highway.
It wasn't until 2005 that Chetwynd went ahead with the idea of making it an annual affair, holding the first annual Chetwynd International Chainsaw Carving Championship. Some of the world's best chainsaw carvers have attended the event, which is by invitation only.
Chetwynd International Chainsaw Carving Championship is now Chetwynd's major tourist attraction and its major annual festival. While the competition itself takes place over four days, the festival itself becomes a week long party.
In 2016, talented master craver, Joerg Jung created this masterpiece. It is a decorative panel about 8 feet in height with the iconic bull moose as the main focal point. In the right upper corner is an owl and on the lower section is a beaver.
The plaque reads:
People's Choice
Beautiful BC
Joerg Jung
B.C. Canada
2016 Chainsaw Carving Championship
In 1975, the beaver became an official emblem of Canada and appears on the back of the Canadian Nickle.
he moose is a Canadian symbol that represents the country's native wildlife.
In First Nations culture the owl symbolize wisdom, intuition and prophecies and sacred knowledge.