California Blacksmith Association upcoming events

OCTOBERFEST 2026 - CBA Event (October 02, 2026)

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Fritz's OCTOBERFEST 2026

Octoberfest 2026 is on!
Join Us for the 45th year of the one and only ….

Fritz’s Octoberfest

Join us for a beautiful weekend of camping and blacksmithing on the Sonoma coast.

Our demonstrator will be Luke Proctor from Mount Horeb Wisconsin.
In the teaching tent we again have Logan Hirsch joined by Adam Hawke from Univ of Wisconsin.

Come Join The cheese heads from Wisconsin and have a great weekend .

DATE: October 2 - 4, 2026

LOCATION: Fritz Hagist’s Ranch
34895 Kruse Ranch Road, Cazadero, California
Shop 707/847-3362, Home 707/847-3935

ROADS TO OKTOBERFEST:

Head for Plantation. From Hwy 101 take River Road/Guerneville exit in Santa Rosa. Follow the signs to Guerneville and Jenner (Hwy 116). At Hwy 1 head north to Meyers Grade (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED IF YOU HAVE A BIG RIG OR TRAILER). At about 5 miles, Meyers Grade merges into Seaview Road. Fourteen miles later, turn left on Kruse Ranch Road. Follow the anvil signs one- and-a-half miles to Fritz’s driveway on the right. Note that some GPS navigation apps will direct you to take Kruse Ranch Road up from Hwy 1. That is bad advice unless the conditions are ideal (dry, daylight) and you have a small vehicle and you take it SLOW and very carefully. For much of the way it is only 1 lane, unpaved, very twisty with limited sight lines and a steep drop-off.

MAP:octoberfest2023_map.pdf

CONTACT:510/847-1720 secretary@calsmith.org

REGISTRATION: Online or by mail

Online. Registration will be open by August 20. ONLINE REGISTRATION WILL BE OPEN TILL September 30, 2026

Mail. Make check payable to:

CBA
5505 Santa Cruz Ave

Richmond, CA 94804

You must be a CBA member to attend. Conference limited to the first 150 registrants. SIGN UP EARLY or risk missing out!

COST:

Tickets by Sept 18th

CBA Members $225
Additional Family Members $135

Tickets after Sept 18th

CBA Members $255
Additional Family Members $165

Refund Policy: 50% refund if cancelled by 9/18, No refund after 9/18.

* Due to capacity limits and cost increases for food, etc, the Octoberfest price has gone up since the last event (as all things have.) Keeping in mind that this is "room & board" for 3 days - we feel this is fair and realistic, and we hope you feel the same.

SET UP: Arrive on Friday. Site Opens Friday. Arrive before dark – difficult to find in the dark/fog

AUCTION & IRON IN THE HAT RAFFLE: Please bring items of value for these fun fundraisers.

MEALS: Friday lunch through Sunday lunch. State the number of children attending on your registration form.

PROGRAM: Friday dinner and evening slide show presentation. Friday night open forges till.... Gallery, tailgating, demos go all day Saturday and Sunday morning. Open forging BETWEEN workshops. Saturday evening auction and Iron In The Hat.

COURTESY & SAFETY. ABSOLUTELY NO DOGS ALLOWED. DRIVE SLOWLY once you get off SR 1. This event has a big impact on this rural neighborhood which extends for several miles. PLEASE be courteous, especially when driving through Plantation Camp on Kruse Ranch Road. Keep road dust to a minimum, and watch for animals and people. CHILDREN MUST BE SUPERVISED AT ALL TIMES. HIGH GRASS FIRE DANGER. Be cautious. Bring safety glasses and hand tools. This is a CO-OP event. Everyone makes it happen, so plan to participate.

LODGING: Camping is available on-site for tents and small RVs (no hook-ups). Hot showers are available. Prepare for all weather – hot, cold, fog, rain, sun.

These hotels are fairly close along Hwy 1.

Fort Ross Lodge, 707 847 3333
Timber Cove Inn, 707 847 3231
Salt Point Lodge, 707 847 3234
Above all in Timbercove, near Fritz's shopGualala Country Inn 707 884 4343 (Gualala)Surf Inn 707 884 3571 (Gualala)

DEMONSTRATORS:

Our primary demonstrator will be Luke Proctor of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. His artist statement:

I use traditional forging techniques and joinery to create contemporary work. I start with raw metal and heat it in the forge. I then use a pneumatic power hammer and hand hammers at the anvil to shape and bend the material. I have made the majority of my tooling. I use different tool steels for hot cutting chisels, slits, drifts, punches, and hammers. The style I have developed is in part inspired by the use of industrial forging tools in an unconventional manner to shape and push the metal, gaining length, width, and texture simultaneously. I focus on keeping clean lines and forging every part of each piece to shape the metal hot. The joinery becomes an aesthetic part of the piece, a focal point; it represents hard, honest work that is thought of as sophisticated in its simplicity.

This work represents an idea of focusing on form and line, texture and functionality. Ideas come from many places, including the natural world I see every day outside the studio in southwest Wisconsin’s “Driftless Area,” and industrial blacksmithing techniques from the early years of the Industrial Revolution. The joinery is out front for all to see, rather than trying to hide it; it becomes an aesthetic part of each piece. The fronts of all the cabinet pieces have a story to tell, whether it’s an abstract representation of our agricultural area or a connection to the historical steel industry.

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.