GUTS 2014 was a rousing success. How do we know? For starters, we were there and watched carvers, volunteers, and bidders alike have a blast. Registration was maxed out once again. The carving was insanely creative, the competition as tight as ever. But the greatest indicator? That would be the $27,050. This was the overall amount raised, which exceeded our goal. And remember, all of those proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina. The entire Charlotte creative community can now commence with the back-slapping and high-fiving.

In honor of GUTS 2014, we pulled together some of our favorite photos from the event, leading off with this year’s winners in each respective category. If you weren’t able to make it, our slideshow will give you a pretty good idea of what you missed. Our hope is that your regret will cause you to block off your calendar in October 2015 so that you won’t experience this kind of pain ever again.

For those of you who participated or attended, we once again thank you. We have big plans for GUTS in 2015, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted.