Saw Festival

August 10-11, 2019  - no updates since 2019

Roaring Camp Railroads
Felton, CA
sawplayers.org
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Free admission, $parking fee
The annual Saw Contest, the longest running saw contest in the world, will crown its champion

42nd Annual Saw Festival
August 10, 2019 2 p.m. Open jam and potluck
August 11, 2019 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Festival music and competition
Festival and contest at Roaring Camp in Felton, CA. 11:00 am Musical Saw Contest on the Main Stage. The 41st annual Saw Contest, the longest running saw contest in the world, will crown its champion.

Potluck and open jam at Roaring Camp outer parking lot in Felton, CA. Scribner Statue, 1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA  CA.

FELTON Most saws can produce nearly the same sound, although there are qualitative individual differences depending on the quality and thickness of the steel, the usable length of the blade, the width of the blade at the base (handle end) and the width at the tip. The range can vary from less than two to more than three octaves, but most saws are generally about 2 - 2.5 octaves. If you can learn to master playing harmonics, (which is more difficult to control, but it IS possible), you can extend the range higher.

The main difference between musical saws and regular saws is that musical saws usually don't have sharpened and "set" teeth. Regular carpenter saws, when sharpened, have every other tooth bent to the side in the opposite direction (set) so that the blade of the saw doesn't bind in the wood. A musical saw whose teeth are flat is just a little safer to play (it won't cut up your pants and MAY not draw blood if you accidentally hit someone with it). Regular saws are often fine for music, but some are easier to play than others. Professional musical saws are made by at least three companies in the U.S., as well as others manufactured in England, France, Germany, Sweden and China. The IMSA hosts the annual International Musical Saw Festival” every year at Roaring Camp & Big Trees, in the town of Felton - in the mountains about 10 minutes North of Santa Cruz, California. The Saw Festival is FREE, and is now held each year on the 2nd Sunday in August, and the Saturday before). You will meet other saw players from around the world, you can attend the free saw-playing workshop to learn new techniques from expert musical saw players - and even have the unique experience of playing with an average of 25-35 other saw players on stage at the same time! The Festival has a main stage where bands (and individuals) play in front of a receptive audience, and there is also a Saw-Off competition to find the best saw player of the year. People come from all over the world to attend the Festival, and we've had some GREAT players (and Saw-Off winners) from Canada, China, Japan, Czech Republic, England, France, Ireland, New Zealand, as well as the U.S.A. The musical saw was at it's peak of popularity in vaudeville around the 1920's and 1930's, but many thousands of saw players still enjoy the instrument all around the world. YOU will too! Brett Harte Hall Time: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Contest begins at 11 a.m.

Events are not guaranteed. It is your responsibility to confirm before going.