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.
Featured demonstrator - TBD
Teaching tent - TBD & TBD
DATE: October 2 - 4, 2026
LOCATION: Fritz Hagist’s Ranch
34895 Kruse Ranch Road, Cazadero, California
Shop 707/847-3362, Home 707/847-3935
MAP: octoberfest2023_map.pdf
CONTACT: Michael Suwczinsky, 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.
CBA Secretary Michael Suwczinsky
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: (subject to change)
Tickets by Sept 17th
CBA Members $TBD
Additional Family Members $TBD
Tickets after Sept 17th
CBA Members $TBD
Additional Family Members $TBD
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 shop
Gualala Country Inn 707 884 4343 (Gualala)
Surf Inn 707 884 3571 (Gualala)
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 (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.
octoberfest2023_map.pdf
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.
OCTOBERFEST EDUCATION:
Logan Hirsh will be back with assistance from the CBA Education Team.
