Bill Grumbine
02-15-2005, 1:01 PM
Greetings All!
I have been getting more and more emails asking me, so I thought I had better get my act together and post. The answer is yes, we will be having the Five Barns Picnic again this year, located in beautiful downtown Helffrichsville PA. Now, if you don’t know where this is, or what this is, read on.
The Five Barns Picnic is a picnic for woodworkers and their families. It is not a commercial event, it is not a formal event, it is just a bunch of people getting together to have some fun, some food, and some foolin’ around in the shop with their closest internet friends. This year will be our fourth annual, and the DATE is JULY 29 and 30, 2005. Once again, we will be doing this on a Friday and Saturday.
We are located in eastern PA, about 15 miles west of Allentown. There is easy access to our property via interstate highways and international airports. People have been coming from all over the US to participate, and we hope this year we see the same. We have 5 ½ acres with lots of room for those hardy souls who like to camp out. For those who don’t, there are all sorts of hotels in the 1-5 mile range and there are campgrounds within five miles of us.
There is no formal plan or schedule for this year, and there probably will not be. What there will be are a bunch of people showing up with lathes, saws, routers, hand tools, and all sorts of completed woodworking projects. There will be demonstrations of all sorts. Last year in addition to the numerous turning demos, we had an ongoing demo on marquetry, several sharpening demos, and the big attraction, a Woodmizer sawmill demo. Immediately after the Woodmizer demo, I supervised a stack the boards in the barn demo.
There will be famous and notorious personages present, if this year proves to be like those in the past. We have had book authors, website owners, and this year, a genuine movie star will be there! Please do not pay him any mind though, as his head is big enough already.
There is no price for admission, but there are a few rules. First, this is a picnic, not a trade show. There are no commercial enterprises setting up to sell stuff, although if you have something you want to sell, trade or give away, we have done that in the past. Second, please do not ask me to bring your dog. We love dogs, and we have two of our own, but if everyone who asked me about their dog brought one, we would have 50 dogs running around loose. We have had dogs in the past, and they have been well behaved, but then I look bad to all the people who I told not to bring theirs along.
If you want to come, all you have to do is EMAIL me. I know I will get responses to this posting here, but if you do not EMAIL me, I might not get your name on the list. The email list is for updates and details, and finally directions. This is not a super secret location, but I like to have a rough idea of how many people will be here. Last year we topped 100 woodworkers and families.
Families are important! Bring yours along if you have one. There are plenty of things for non-woodworkers to do. Sitting under the big tarp down by the house and sipping cool beverages is a favorite, and for the younger set, the pool will be open again this year. If worst comes to worst, I will give out directions to the shopping outlets in Reading, but I will take no responsibility for your checkbook status by the end of the weekend. For those of you who arrive early in search of wood or tools, we have a local Woodcraft store now, an antique tool store, and a very nicely stocked sawmill just up the road a bit.
So, if you have made it this far, you are a serious candidate for attending. Send me an email, and I will put you on the list. One more thing. Please title the email with Five Barns Picnic. I get so much spam that emails which are untitled, or have something like “Hi Bill” are often deleted out of hand, as they are usually spammers trying to sell me something. Thanks for reading this, and we hope to see you this summer!
Bill
I have been getting more and more emails asking me, so I thought I had better get my act together and post. The answer is yes, we will be having the Five Barns Picnic again this year, located in beautiful downtown Helffrichsville PA. Now, if you don’t know where this is, or what this is, read on.
The Five Barns Picnic is a picnic for woodworkers and their families. It is not a commercial event, it is not a formal event, it is just a bunch of people getting together to have some fun, some food, and some foolin’ around in the shop with their closest internet friends. This year will be our fourth annual, and the DATE is JULY 29 and 30, 2005. Once again, we will be doing this on a Friday and Saturday.
We are located in eastern PA, about 15 miles west of Allentown. There is easy access to our property via interstate highways and international airports. People have been coming from all over the US to participate, and we hope this year we see the same. We have 5 ½ acres with lots of room for those hardy souls who like to camp out. For those who don’t, there are all sorts of hotels in the 1-5 mile range and there are campgrounds within five miles of us.
There is no formal plan or schedule for this year, and there probably will not be. What there will be are a bunch of people showing up with lathes, saws, routers, hand tools, and all sorts of completed woodworking projects. There will be demonstrations of all sorts. Last year in addition to the numerous turning demos, we had an ongoing demo on marquetry, several sharpening demos, and the big attraction, a Woodmizer sawmill demo. Immediately after the Woodmizer demo, I supervised a stack the boards in the barn demo.
There will be famous and notorious personages present, if this year proves to be like those in the past. We have had book authors, website owners, and this year, a genuine movie star will be there! Please do not pay him any mind though, as his head is big enough already.
There is no price for admission, but there are a few rules. First, this is a picnic, not a trade show. There are no commercial enterprises setting up to sell stuff, although if you have something you want to sell, trade or give away, we have done that in the past. Second, please do not ask me to bring your dog. We love dogs, and we have two of our own, but if everyone who asked me about their dog brought one, we would have 50 dogs running around loose. We have had dogs in the past, and they have been well behaved, but then I look bad to all the people who I told not to bring theirs along.
If you want to come, all you have to do is EMAIL me. I know I will get responses to this posting here, but if you do not EMAIL me, I might not get your name on the list. The email list is for updates and details, and finally directions. This is not a super secret location, but I like to have a rough idea of how many people will be here. Last year we topped 100 woodworkers and families.
Families are important! Bring yours along if you have one. There are plenty of things for non-woodworkers to do. Sitting under the big tarp down by the house and sipping cool beverages is a favorite, and for the younger set, the pool will be open again this year. If worst comes to worst, I will give out directions to the shopping outlets in Reading, but I will take no responsibility for your checkbook status by the end of the weekend. For those of you who arrive early in search of wood or tools, we have a local Woodcraft store now, an antique tool store, and a very nicely stocked sawmill just up the road a bit.
So, if you have made it this far, you are a serious candidate for attending. Send me an email, and I will put you on the list. One more thing. Please title the email with Five Barns Picnic. I get so much spam that emails which are untitled, or have something like “Hi Bill” are often deleted out of hand, as they are usually spammers trying to sell me something. Thanks for reading this, and we hope to see you this summer!
Bill