Where’s the bark?

Visitors to the resurrected Albany Timber Carnival on Friday said they were disappointed not to find lumberjack sports topping the bill.

Many, however, said they’d be back to Timber-Linn Memorial Park today to watch the buckers, log rollers and ax throwers get down to business. Novice events start at 10 a.m. and professionals follow from noon to 3 p.m.

Eric Henschel, vice president of the Albany Timber Carnival Association, said members of his group would have loved to put on logging competitions both days of the festival but don’t yet have the budget.

Still, he said, “A lot of people are patting us on the back for at least bringing it back.”

Founded in 1941, the World Championship Timber Carnival reigned over mid-valley Fourth of July events for decades, drawing contestants from all over the world. In its heydey, it brought in crowds of 40,000 people before dwindling interest and a lack of volunteers brought it to an end eight years ago.

Fans of the carnival bemoaned its passing, however, and three years ago a new group of volunteers started working to bring it back.

Friday’s opening ceremonies began at 11 a.m. By midafternoon, a few hundred people were milling around Timber-Linn, playing horseshoes, visiting craft booths and listening to local bands and other entertainers.

Several dozen stopped to watch Bob King’s chain saw art demonstrations, the only chips to fly during Friday’s events.

Keith and Doris Brunker of Albany said they used to bring their children, now grown, to watch Timber Carnival events. They were disappointed not to find any log rolling competitions, Doris’ favorite.

“I figured it would be today. Today’s the Fourth,” Keith Brunker said.

“That’s mostly why we came,” his wife put in. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”

Most of the best-loved timber competitions will be put on today, Henschel said, but not the spar pole climb. The holes for the two spar poles, nearly 100 feet tall, were filled in 2002 and no one has yet dug them back out, he said.

Cassandra Hunter of Albany, who was part of the Timber Carnival Court in 1993, said she remembers the princesses being a part of the Rose City water skiing demonstrations that took place on Timber-Linn Lake. Those ended when the lake was reconfigured in 1996.

The logging competitions were her favorite, however.

“The timber events were really neat,” she said. “It was an international thing. It was big. It was nice to have something like that in our area.”

“I’m sad that it fell apart,” she added. “But just the fact that they’re bringing it back — Albany needs something like this again.”

But Tina Lynch of Albany said she’d rather give the logging sports a pass anyway.

“We’ll just do the family fun stuff. Forget about the timber stuff,” she said. “But it’s good to have something for everybody.”

n For more photos, see A3