GTCC welding students craft 6-foot sign for NCFF

Guilford Technical Community College’s welding students and staff will deliver handcrafted, six-foot-tall metal “FOLK” letters to serve as a focal point for the upcoming NC Folk Festival, Monday, Sept. 14 at 11 a.m.

Since the begging of summer, GTCC welding students have worked together to design and construct a large-scale metal installation spelling “FOLK.”

Each letter is about 6 feet tall by 3 feet wide and weighs about 600 pounds, making the project both a large-scale fabrication challenge and a hands-on learning experience. Over about 100 hours, students applied welding, metalworking, layout and fabrication techniques while learning how to safely construct, move and assemble large, heavy structures.

The project gave students real-world experience in teamwork, precision, problem-solving and the safe handling of oversized metal components.

In addition to this project, GTCC electrical systems and entertainment tech students will lend their talents at the NC Folk Festival, helping with installation and breakdown for the music stages.