California Blacksmith Association upcoming events

INSTRUCTOR TRAINING NORTH AT WEAVERVILLE - 2026 (October 29, 2026)

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT

INSTRUCTOR TRAINING NORTH AT WEAVERVILLE

DATE: Thursday, October 29, 2026

COST: Free to CBA Instructors, $35 to non-instructors

LOCATION: Jake Jackson Museum in Weaverville, California

INSTRUCTOR: Mark Aspery

CONTACT/RSVP: If you are interested in attending, please email Victoria Ritter at education@calsmith.org

Note: It is customary to bring your own forge (gas or coal) and an anvil. A post vise is also helpful.

DESCRIPTION:

Mark Aspery will be showing us how to do the trickier Level 2 scrolls: the Beveled leaf and Ha’ Penny.

L3 Smiths Hangout Day - Winterbash 2027 (January 28, 2027)

Thu, 28 Jan 2027 17:00:00 GMT

L3 Smiths Hangout Day
at Winterbash 2027

Level 3 Smiths hangout day with Mark Aspery -- making finials for scroll work.

DATE & TIME: Thursday, January 28th, starting at 9am.

PRICING: Free to all L3 smiths. $35 for all others.

LOCATION: McLellan Blacksmithing Shop.
6961 Horseshoe Rd., Loomis, CA

REGISTRATION: Register here online. Online registration is open till the end of Jan. 26.

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Victoria Ritter at Education@calsmith.org for questions

MEALS: Please bring a lunch/drink of your choice or you can order something from a local sandwich shop that morning!

Bring your favorite beverage – this is a chance to unwind, hang out and enjoy our growing L3 family.

Instructor Training Day - Winterbash 2027 (January 29, 2027)

Fri, 29 Jan 2027 17:00:00 GMT

Instructor Training Day
at Winterbash 2026

DATE & TIME: Friday, January 29th, starting at 9am going until dark!

PRICING: Free to CBA Instructors. $45 for all others.

LOCATION: McLellan Blacksmithing Shop.
6961 Horseshoe Rd., Loomis, CA

REGISTRATION: Register here online. Online registration is open till the end of Jan. 26.

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Victoria Ritter at Education@calsmith.org for questions

MEALS: Please bring a lunch/drink of your choice or you can order something from a local sandwich shop that morning!

INSTRUCTOR TRAINING DAY:
We will go over punching and drifting a 1/2” hole in a 1/2” bar, then make the tools. Everyone will have a chance to replicate the demonstration.

As always, this is a way for the CBA to give back to our dedicated instructors by providing a day of fun, forging, and learning from each other.

CBA loves our Instructors. See you there!

WINTERBASH 2027 - CBA EVENT (January 30, 2027)

Sat, 30 Jan 2027 17:00:00 GMT

WINTERBASH 2027

It is time for some winter forging at CBA’s Annual WinterBash

DATE & TIME: January 30th , Saturday from 9 am to dark

PRICING: $65 which includes a main lunch course. Asking everyone to bring a side dish, drink or dessert.

LOCATION: McLellan Blacksmithing Shop.
6961 Horseshoe Rd., Loomis, CA

REGISTRATION: Register here online. Online registration is open till the end of Jan. 27.

CONTACT FOR MORE INFO: Victoria Ritter at Education@calsmith.org for questions.

MEALS:
Continental breakfast and coffee on site!

Potluck Lunch: We will provide main dish, TBD and will send out a signup sheet a couple of weeks before the event so you can bring something to share or add to the potatoes!

FORGING AT THE BASH:

Hands-on Forging opportunities for all skill levels, from a brand-new smith trying this out for the first time to an advanced project and everything in between.

Beginners: Alena Carnes will lead a project for beginning smiths.

The in-between: Mark Aspery and team will lead a Miners Candlestick workshop. An all-day project featuring a piece of classic US mining history; project plus is makes for an excellent forging to dimension project that makes a nice display for a shelf or table.

Advanced: Watch a team of Experienced Smiths forge out large-scale material using the tried-and-true Smith and Striker method to produce a sculpture that will be auctioned off at the Spring Conference.

Power Hammer Workshop: John Williams will lead a session on making a tool, part of the newly developed Power Hammer curriculum.

See you there!

Spring Conference 2027 - save the date (April 22, 2027)

Thu, 22 Apr 2027 07:00:00 GMT

The 2027 Spring conference will be held at the San Benito County fairgrounds. This is the same venue as the 2015 Western States conference. The actual registration listing will come later -- this is just a save-the-date notification.

CBA Spring Conference will be held at San Benito Fairgrounds near Hollister.

We are developing an exciting demonstrator lineup: Jodie Bliss from Bliss Studio Custom Metalwork in Colorado will be making a sculpture, and Mathew Christiano from Reno Forge will be showing some curved stair-making tricks he learned working with Pete Matilla in Tasmania. We’ll have Salem Straub doing a knife-making demonstration. Jon Sarriugarte of Form & Reform will be talking about and demoing building light fixtures. Our international guests will be Forja Viva Guille Morales from Spain and Yukio & Chikako Kanari from Japan.

There is a strong possibility of an enameling workshop.

Our incredible education team, led by Victoria Ritter and Becky Schimpf, will cover key aspects of the national curriculum. And of course, there will be lots of hands-on forging opportunities.