Two men are discussing carving over a table of wildfowls.
Amber Grace Garrard/The Lion's Roar

People from all over and of all ages came together to appreciate the art form of decoy carving. 

The Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers & Collectors Guild held their annual Wildfowl Festival and Carving Contest on Saturday, Oct.1 and Sunday, Oct.2. 

“There is such a community here with carving,” said Sierra Eskritt, a 17-year-old prizewinning carver from Canada.

The community of Wildfowl carvers started the festival around 40 years ago and this is the 9th year the event has taken place since Hurricane Katrina. After reconvening in 2008, the guild has started to gain back their fan base and their reputation.

One of the things that attract people to get involved with the Louisiana Wildfowl Festival is the opportunity to win prize money.

“We have over 120 categories that you can win prize money in and about $50,000 in prize money total where the highest you can win is $14,000 for one piece,” said Chairman of the guild Richard Reeves. “You can pretty much carve anything you want to and we’ll have a place for you to enter it into the show.” 

The funding comes from sponsors around the country as well as the parish. President of the guild Gene Hebert said, “A lot of the sponsorship money is from big organizations or individuals. They give us the money to put on the contest and we give the money to the artists.”

Kids also have the opportunity to win prize money. For the past 6 years, the guild has included art from St. Tammany Parish elementary and middle schools as well as duck heads made by the boy scouts. 

“Because we’re a non profit organization we try to solicit a lot of community involvement and that’s one of the things we do,” said Hebert. “We have a program for the kids in the St. Tammany school district and we also do the same thing for the boy scouts.”

The program donates money to the boy scouts and teaches them decoy-carving basics. It also pays art teachers to help instruct kids to draw the wildfowl assigned to them while educating them on the birds.

“I think it’s important to build a fan base for all of the beautiful work that’s here,” said local, art teacher Adair Watkins. “Having the kids work helps get people here and make them aware of the variety of Louisiana wildfowl that we have and the arts that are connected with it.”

By including these programs, the guild meets the goal of their show.

“The goal of the show is to promote the art form,” said Hebert. “It’s a dying art form and we need to get more people involved with it, especially young people.”

President of the Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers & Collectors Guild Gene Hebert holds one of his own carved birds. He has been carving for over 40 years.
Amber Grace Garrard/The Lion's Roar