Wood carving organizations that are close-ish to Chicago.

Clubs

• North Suburban Carvers — Bensenville, IL, which is just west of O'Hare
• Carving Characters Club — Mundelein,IL, every Tuesday from 9am-12pm at United Church, 418 N Prairie Ave, Mundelein, IL 60060
• South Suburban Chiselers
• Fox Valley Woodworkers Club — Batavia, IL
• .
• Blackhawk Carving Club — Rockford, IL
• Corn Belt Carving Club — Bloomington, IL. Kind of far away.
• Rock River Valley Carving Club — Janesville, WI (just north of Rockford)
• Lake County Carvers — only a small reference to this here
• <more>

Workshops/Conventions/Festivals

(I have only included ones with classes)

• Affiliated Woodcarvers Congress — eastern Iowa — June — 3hr from Chicago
• I really enjoyed this one. They have A/C and two large vendors!
• Evart Roundup — Evart, MI (central Michigan — June — 4.2hr from Chicago
• Buckeye Woodcarvers Roundup — Fletcher, OH (eastern Ohio) — July — 5hr from Chicago
• Caricature Carvers of America — Converse, IN — August — 3hr from Chicago
• Good. They have three instructors for one day each, so you get some variety. It's space-limited though, so sign up early.
• Musky Area Wood Carvers Workshop — northern Wisconsin — August — ~5hr from Chicago
• Gathering of Woodcarvers — Sandwich, IL — September — 1.5hr from Chicago
• (Officially, tent camping is prohibited at the fairgrounds, and I should camp at the Big Rock Campground. Semi-officially, tent camping there is ok (per Mike).)