By Ragnar Haagen

Lumberjacks show their skill at P.A. Ex

Aug 5, 2011 | 7:15 AM

There is log rolling, axe throwing, block chopping and spring board chop on performance for the first time at the Prince Albert Exhibition.

It’s the West Coast Lumberjack Show with four lumberjacks and one MC entertaining the crowd with a mixture of brute strength, technical skill and stand-up comedy.

“I started doing lumberjack sports in college actually. There’s a collegiate lumberjack circuit on the East Coast,” said Darren Dean, the man in charge of show.

“I started there, then moved to British Columbia eventually and competed on the professional circuit for a while there, then started doing these shows as well.”

He has been part of the West Coast Lumberjacks for five years. The show itself has been touring for almost 20 years in different incarnations. It came about as a way for professional lumberjacks to entertain the public and show off the skills they use in the bush every day.

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“It’s a lot of fun, we go out and compete real hard against each other (during the show),” Dean said.

“It’s fun to just go out and entertain the crowd, see their reactions to the events we do and just have a lot of fun with the crowds and the different cities we go to.”

It’s a full time job for Dean most days of the year, but he also does forestry consulting work during the winter months.

The group appears at approximately 25-30 shows each summer, and is usually on the road from May long weekend right through to Labor Day. There is one group that travels the east coast and one that travels the west coast.

“This is my fifth show,” said 20-year-old Clarke Ellah, who also started lumberjacking in college.
“I had never even heard of the show before college,” he said.

“We always would split wood for our house, (I) didn’t know that my college would have it when I got there. I decided to sign up and go for it and now here I am.”

Some of the events, such as the two-person double buck hand saw, have audience participation.

The West Coast Lumberjack’s will perform three shows daily until the exhibition ends on Saturday.

rhaagen@rawlco.com