About Us

The Rio Grande Valley Woodcarving Show and Sale

When people with passion and skills gather they seem to have a need to share both with as many folks as possible. Initially for the RGV Woodcarvers, this meant putting on a woodcarving show. That was 27 years ago. Fifteen years ago, that didn’t seem like enough. So, club members Elaine and Toby Craft, Maxine Blanchard and Joe Welneck organized the first Rally on the Rio.

Carvers from around the country as well as the Rio Grande Valley gather to compete and exhibit their woodcarvings. Carving competition includes all types of carvings, such as realistic human, animal and bird carvings, all types of relief carvings, bark carving, walking sticks, caricature carvings of every kind and chip carving, to name just a few of the styles and disciplines that will be represented at the show. Instructors who will be teaching at the Rally on the Rio will be there to give tips and information on their specialties. All and all, the woodcarving show is a fun and informative two days for all. The show admission fee is kept at a nominal level but does help defray the cost of putting on the show.

In 2012, over 2000 people visited the Rio Grande Valley Woodcarving Show. Over seventy display tables represented both club members showing their carvings, as well as commercial vendors selling just about any carving supply any woodcarver could need.

The Rally on the Rio

This was an ambitious endeavor to bring together carving instructors from around the country to put on a woodcarving seminar for Rio Grande Valley residents and Winter Texans alike. In the beginning, the Rally was held in Mercedes. After a number of years, it moved to the Jose (Pepe) Salinas Convention Center in Pharr. Last year, the Carving Show and the Rally both moved to the Ceilo Banquet Center in San Juan, TX. This facility is able to host both the show and the rally in one location eliminating the necessity to move from one location to another.

Woodcarvers of all skill levels are welcome. Taking part in the rally is a great way for beginners to find out if they want to become woodcarvers. No tools? No problem. There will be tools for sale at both the show and the rally. For those who already carve, it is an excellent way to increase skills by taking a class from some of the best carving instructors in the country.