A remarkable celebration of wood will take place this October in and around Owen Sound at Grey Roots Museum, Harmony Arts Centre, Grey Gallery, and Intersections Wood Collaborative.
With a full weekend of presentations, exhibitions, demonstrations, local, national and international speakers, vendor displays, pre-and post-hands-on workshops, and so much more, Wood Symposium 2026 will connect and inspire beginner to experienced woodworkers and wood turners.
Intersections Wood Collaborative is proud to host Wood Symposium 2026 on Friday October 16 to Sunday October 18. The Symposium will link the vibrant local wood arts community in Bruce and Grey Counties with wood artists from across Canada and North America.
The Symposium will take place from Friday to Sunday. Friday will open with registration, an evening of film and a reception at Grey Roots Museum just outside of Owen Sound. Saturday will follow with sessions including presentations and demonstrations and a vendor’s market. Session leaders have been chosen from across Canada and the United States and bring an exceptional wealth of information and insight about wood, woodworking and wood turning.
Symposium sessions will cover specific woodworking and wood turning techniques, design and form development, historical and contemporary perspectives, sustainable forestry and woodlot management, and more. Vendor displays include woodworking and turning tools as well as information about local forestry and conservation efforts.
A bonus opportunity to tour the Grey Roots museum historic woodshop will also be available. Saturday evening includes a celebratory dinner at Harmony Center with speaker John Kelsey and entertainment. Saturday lunch and the banquet are included for registrants.
Throughout the weekend, participants and the public will be able to tour Grey Gallery to see beautiful examples of woodworking and woodturning made by Symposium registrants. Before and after the Symposium there will be optional advanced three-day workshops for 5 individuals who want to participate in woodworking or woodturning workshops at a master’s level.
Taking place at Grey Roots Museum, Harmony Arts Centre, Grey Gallery, our intention is to reach a local audience of woodworkers and wood turners from the very beginner to the master artist. We hope to bring greater awareness of the work and expertise of others and how that expertise can be brought into our own rich woodworking/wood turning art environment.
This will strengthen the local woodworking and wood turning art communities as well as contribute and support the wonderful mosaic of other artists and different art mediums in Grey and Bruce counties.
Intersections Wood Collaborative is a not-for-profit woodworking studio which continues to honour the legacy and vision of internationally renowned visionary artist Stephen Hogbin (1942-2022) by providing classes for all ages, lectures, mentorship, demonstrations, and more for woodworkers.
Speakers include:
• DAVID BELL (Elora, ON)
Basket Illusion Effect on Wood turned Objects
• MICHAEL BROLLY (USA)
Cool Bent Lamination Techniques
• MARILYN CAMPBELL (Kincardine, ON)
Critique Session at Grey Gallery
• FRANK DIDOMIZIO (Selwyn, ON)
Multi Axis Disc Lathe Techniques
• CARL DURANCE (Wiarton, ON) Spoon Carving
• MICHAEL FORTUNE (Warsaw, ON)
Working Wood by Hand and by Machine
• JOHN KELSEY (USA)
Five Decades of Fragmental Woodturning
• LENORE KEESHIG (Neyaashiinigmiing, ON) Exploring the Art and Tradition of Basketmaking
• BRIAN NELSON (Thornbury, ON)
The Art of Woodworking: Getting Creative
• TINA SCHERZ (Toronto, ON)
Green Woodworking: Riving for Strength
• MARK SFIRRI (USA)
Stephen Hogbin: Groundbreaking Approach and Influence
• CHRIS SISSON (Hamilton, ON)
Thinking Outside the Box: Hand-chased Threads
• JOHN TERPSTRA (Hamilton, ON)
The Poetry of Wood and Woodworking
• VIC TESOLIN (Stoney Creek, ON)
A Jack and a Block: Exploring the Use of Hand Tools
• MALCOLM ZANDER (Ottawa, ON)
Adventures in Piercing Complex Turned Works
Come out for a weekend of fun and learning and enjoy the Fall colours of Grey County! Registration to attend Wood Symposium 2026 is open now and filling up fast.
For more information contact Mike Simpson, at symposium@intersectionswoodcollaborative.org or email info@intersectionswoodcollaborative.org or visit the website at www.intersectionswoodcollaborative.org
