FESTIVAL CELEBRATES GOURD ART.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

PALMDALE - ``Smell inside,'' said 5-year-old Skyler Werner, from Orange County, holding up a freshly carved gourd. ``Yucky huh?'' he adds, wrinkling his little nose. Skyler and his big brother Jordan, age 14, were just two of the many visitors to the 5th Annual Gourd Festival at The Tree Mover Tree & Gourd Farm Saturday.

Jordan and Skyler were making a birdhouse at the ``Make and Take Workshop,'' but there was some dispute as to where the finished product would hang.

Skyler thought it would look good at Grandma's and Jordan thought it would look good at their house. ``I'm hoping to get some blue jays and brown birds,'' said Jordan, who was practicing burning designs into a piece of gourd. ``We're going to put 'Welcome birds' on it.''

Robin Cramer drove all the way from Kingman, Ariz., to design a gourd at the workshop. ``I got involved in gourds a few months ago and came to see what it was,'' said Cramer, scraping the top of a gourd across a piece of sand paper.

She wanted to make a drum out of the gourd and had to get the top perfectly flat first. When asked how long it would take to make a drum she replied, ``I have no idea. I've got all day.''

Cramer wanted to make a small drum, but was told the best way to learn was to make a large one first.

Hundreds of gourds are available for purchase at the festival. Owner Tony Baal figures the farm will produce 40,000 gourds this year.

``California has more people in gourd societies than in five, six states combined,'' said Baal. His farm produced 35,000 gourds last year.

The gourds are planted by March 1 and then Mother Nature decides when they're ready to be harvested. he said. ``Mother Nature sends you a frost. You go home one day and they're green and you come back and the vines are brown.''

Waiting in line to purchase some of those handpicked gourds was first- time visitor Carolyn Levine. ``They're all gonna be ghosts,'' said Levine of her purchases.

She saw some ghosts in her neighbor's yard and decided to copy the idea. Levine grew her own gourds once but never used them. ``I grew two and they sat in the garage for 15 years,'' she said.

In addition to the unfinished gourds waiting to be sold are gourds for sale by more than 30 vendors.

Suraia Smyrna of Palmdale displayed hand-carved and painted gourds decorated with exotic plants and animals.

Originally from Brazil, she said the gourd designs remind her of her native home. Smyrna first became interested in gourds in January. ``Gourds have a little bit of everything - you can carve, you can burn, you can paint,'' said Smryna.

Other finished gourds available for purchase include ghosts, pumpkins, and witches for Halloween and Santas for Christmas. One vendor displayed African women created from gourds.

The vendors displayed their wares under a trellis covered with gourd vines, hundreds of still-growing gourds hanging above their heads.

Supplies for everything from cleaning the gourds to decorating them with strings and feathers are available for purchase. Prices for finished gourds range in price from a few dollars up to $950 for the more detailed items.

For those who get hungry, barbecued beef sandwiches and hot dogs are available for sale along with cold drinks. A covered patio area with tables is available for dining.

The Tree Mover Tree & Gourd Farm is located at 5014 E. Ave. N. Admission to the event is free but parking is $2.

Guests to the festival are given a hayride to and from the parking area. The festival will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The Make and Take Workshop costs $25.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Visitors to the 5th Annual Gourd Festival admire gourds by artist Lillian Hopkins, such as ``Sand Painting Story Teller.''

(2 -- 3 -- color) Artist Joni Mollinedo of Palmdale shows her gourd-art penguin, above, at the 5th Annual Gourd Festival. Below, Mollinedo shows her creation, ``Delicious Inn of Apple Valley.''

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer