There’s more to guitars than just their sound.
Guitars by Hand at Errington War Memorial Hall features handmade guitars, banjos, ukuleles and other custom-made musical instruments. People can come and check out fine craftsmanship of fully-finished instruments and some still in progress, while also talking with the luthiers who crafted them.
A luthier is someone who builds or repairs string instruments, such as guitars or banjos.
The Summit School of Guitar Building and Repair, which is based out of Bowser, will have a selection of students and instructors showing off their craftsmanship at the annual Guitars by Hand show at Errington Hall.
Sigmund Johannessen, who is in charge of the guitar-building program and co-owner of the school, said they will have three tables displaying their work.
“It will be different things, like finished guitars, some guitars in progress, maybe some tools,” Johannessen said.
The school runs throughout the year, so Johannessen said it will be work from students of all levels.
“We’ll show a variety of what the students do. It will be guys who have only been here for three or four weeks or even up to a year. It will be different things.”
One of the people who will have their work on display is student turned instructor Sota Mori.
Brock Stoyko of Edmonton working on his fret rest at the Summit School of Guitar Building and Repair - Lauren Collins photo
Johannessen said Mori took an almost year-long course at the guitar building and repair school.
Mori said he attended the Guitars by Hand show last year and displayed some of his work, including an acoustic and electric guitar. This year, he said he will be bringing two mandolins, his acoustic and one of the other projects he is currently working on.
Throughout the day, Mori said it’s a constant flow of people stopping by to check out the instruments, and talk to the luthiers.
“We get a lot of people, so people who know a lot of stuff and just people who want to see a lot of guitars,” Mori said. “It’s a different style of woodworking, so if you’re interested in like arts and crafts, it would be interesting to see.”
This is the fifth year for the show in Errington, said one of the organizers Bob Herbison.
“The guild is a very informal group of instrument builders, from the Island, the Gulf Islands and Powell River who share information about materials and techniques,” Herbison said.
Herbison also said the show is a reunion of sorts for the luthiers.
Guitars by Hand is Saturday, Oct. 15 at Errington Hall (1390 Errington Rd.) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.