GROVE CITY, PA – August 20, 2004 – The large, handmade, animated woodcarving imported from Slovakia depicting folk life as it has existed there for centuries continues to get bigger. This unique display, believed to be the largest animated woodcarving in America, is now 11 feet wide, 6 feet deep and 8 feet high at the back. When it is complete, it will measure 17 feet by 6 feet by 8 feet. The focal point is a large manger scene with 13 moving figures representing people from all walks of life coming to pay their respects to baby Jesus. The other animated scenes include a dog herding sheep, women hoeing potatoes, a man mowing hay with a scythe, many people going to a famous wooden church, two people making ceramics while others are making wine. Other animated figures include a woman rocking a baby in a cradle, men working in a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop, a shoemaker’s shop and a cooper’s (barrel-maker) shop. Nearby are several dancers and musicians enjoying traditional folk music and dances.

This unique work of art, carved by hand from basswood by three craftsmen in Presov, Slovakia, is located at the Slovak Folk Crafts store near the Grove City factory shops. Three sections are installed now with two more sections coming. The fourth section will arrive in October and the final section will be here next May. It is taking two and one-half years for these three Slovak woodcarvers to complete this unusual masterpiece. Presently, there are 64 moving figures. The animation is driven by an intricate assortment of pulleys, leather belts, gears and levers powered by windshield wiper motors for Volvo trucks. The back of the display is open so visitors can see how the animation works.

The static figures include scale models of Bratislava Castle, Devin Tower, Nitra Cathedral, Bojnice Castle, Krivan mountain peak, Piestany thermal health spa, people picking grapes, a man pitching hay onto a wagon, numerous manger scene figures and a shepherd sitting on a stump playing a flute.

Master Jozef Pekara, an 84 year-old master woodcarver, is designing this woodcarving and acquiring the animation components. Vlado Tomko and Milos Karabin, two younger woodcarvers, work six months to create each section in Slovakia.

Comments made by people seeing this woodcarving for the first time include, "I’ve never seen anything like this before – it’s breathtakingly beautiful!" "I have seen the buildings depicted here and that’s exactly what they look like." "There’s no way to describe this display to someone. No photograph can do it justice. It must be seen." This creation is attracting a growing number of people and becoming a major tourist attraction. Many visitors have returned several times to bring friends and when they do, they see things they didn’t see in their previous visits.

Slovak Folk Crafts is located at Pennsylvania exit 113 on interstate highway I-79, one mile east of the Grove City factory outlets on Route 208. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to see this unique animated display. Store hours are Monday – Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Slovak Folk Crafts imports hundreds of beautiful, handmade crafts to create jobs for the Slovak people and donates all profit to charitable religious, educational and cultural projects in Slovakia.

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