VISTA FORGE
Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum
2040 N. Santa Fe Ave., Vista, CA
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Conference Fees
Schedule And Site Map
Getting There, Lodging, and Food
Demonstrators
Education / Hands On
Competitions / Contest
ONLINE REGISTRATION: Register here online. Online registration is open till April 14, after that you can pay at the door.
MAIL-IN REGISTRATION: TBD
CONTACT & CONFERENCE ORGANIZING TEAM:
- Catherine Wuertz
- Chris Branuelas
- David Morice
- Anne Whattoff
- David Gottfredson
Inquiries about the 2026 Conference: cbaspringconference@calsmith.org
SCHEDULE: TBD
SITE MAP:
CONFERENCE FEES:
|
Conference Fees Per-Person *
For CBA Members --
non-members $20 more
|
On/Before
March 26 |
After
March 26 |
| Full Conference (Thursday - Saturday) |
$245 |
$265 |
| Single Day |
$125 |
$150 |
*Non-participating family or friends may attend other open museum areas for $10 daily admission
NO RISK REFUND POLICY - A full refund of conference and meal fees shall be provided if a member cancels at any time prior to the conference starting date.
GETTING THERE:
The conference will be held at the Vista Forge, located on the 55-acre Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista, California in northern San Diego County. The site has ample room for multiple blacksmithing events and education areas as well as on-site food and camping. Admission includes access to the museum's other areas as well, including a weavers and textile barn and cottage, a clock museum, a working sawmill, grain mill, antique steam and gas engines of all sizes, a clock museum, model railroad exhibit, and a working small track railroad. It is also an easy driving distance to a number of popular attractions like Disneyland, Legoland, Knotts Berry Farms, Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo and Safari Parks. There are many food options off-site and North San Diego is well known for its many breweries and wineries.
By Air, the San Diego International Airport and John Wayne Orange County Airports are the closest.
LODGING OPTIONS:
HOTELS: There are many hotels and motels within a short driving distance of the Conference site. The hotel with a special rate for our conference is: Courtyard by Marriott - Oceanside. 3501 Seagate Way, Oceanside, CA 92056 760-966-1000
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sanon-courtyard-san-diego-oceanside/overview/?scid=f2ae0541-1279-4f24-b197-a979c79310b0
We have a rate for attendees at $172/night
CAMPING: There are plenty of low-cost dry tent and RV camping spots on-site:
- Dry RV site $25 per night. Tent camping $20 per night - Showers and restroom facilities on-site available through the registration link.
FOOD:
| Saturday Banquet |
|
| Saturday Banquet and Auction Only, VEGETARIAN option available |
$37 |
We will have a complimentary coffee bar each morning.
We will have breakfasts, lunches, and dinners available for purchase on site (not prepay).
We will host a potluck family-style barbecue on Friday night. This event has quickly become a tradition that the whole family will enjoy. Everyone is welcome and there is no cost. Feel free to bring a ready-to-serve dish, drink, or dessert to share!
Elizabeth Belz
Elizabeth Belz is a contemporary blacksmith and metal artist celebrated for sculptural works inspired by insect anatomy and natural forms. She is the owner of Black Widow Forge and serves as Blacksmithing & Metals Coordinator at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Her style blends traditional forging with imaginative fabrication, crafting intricate steel creatures that push the narrative boundaries of what defines an “insect.”
Walter Sorrells
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Walter Sorrells is a master bladesmith known for forging Japanese-inspired swords and knives of the highest caliber. With over 25 years of experience in knifemaking, he creates artful blades that balance beauty with functionality – from modern high-performance tactical knives to traditional samurai-style swords forged from folded tamahagane steel. Sorrells is equally renowned as an educator in the craft, with clear instructional videos and demonstrations that have inspired a new generation of bladesmiths worldwide.
Nigel Barnett
Nigel Barnett is a master blacksmith from Norfolk, England, known for his beautifully crafted decorative and architectural ironwork. As the owner of the expansive Fransham Forge – a historic eight-acre blacksmithing workshop complete with its own museum and sculpture garden – Barnett produces everything from traditional hand-forged hardware to ambitious large-scale sculptures. With formal training in England’s Hereford blacksmithing program and decades of experience, he has earned the title of Master Blacksmith and undertaken major public commissions around the world.
Gary Brown
Gary Brown is a California blacksmith known for his historically inspired ironwork and meticulous reproductions of colonial-era designs. Working out of his forge in Southern California, Brown specializes in 18th-century style tools, hardware, and decorative pieces made using traditional techniques. With nearly four decades of experience, he is revered as a living link to early American blacksmithing – demonstrating period-correct forging methods and bringing the past to life through ironwork.
Jeffrey Funk
Jeffrey Funk is a renowned Montana blacksmith and the founder of the New Agrarian School, dedicated to teaching traditional crafts. For over forty years he has worked in Bigfork, MT, forging everything from plowshares and farm tools to public art sculptures and custom architectural ironwork. Funk’s style emphasizes technical excellence and authenticity – he combines time-honored blacksmithing techniques with creative design. Beyond his accomplishments as a craftsman, Jeffrey Funk is perhaps best known as a teacher and mentor. He has been a regular demonstrator at blacksmith conferences across the country and has taught at esteemed craft institutions such as the Penland School of Crafts, Peter’s Valley, the New England School of Metalwork and others. Students and peers alike praise his depth of knowledge and his philosophical approach to the craft.
Anton Yakushev
Anton Yakushev is a world-class metal artist, sculptor and blacksmith, originally from Moscow, Russia and now based in Central Oregon. He is renowned for his contemporary hand-forged metal sculptures – fantastical, one-of-a-kind artworks composed of dozens of individually forged components. Yakushev’s creative process emphasizes experiment and improvisation, yielding dramatic pieces that have earned him top honors at international blacksmithing competitions and winning prestigious art awards (including the Herberholtz Award for an outstanding sculptor with the Northern California Arts Association, the International Artistic Blacksmith Award (First Prize in Metal Sculpture) in Alpens, Spain, the Moscow Region Governor’s Arts Award for his monumental public sculpture “Water Carrier”, etc.) and exhibitions across Europe, UK and the United States.
HANDS-ON EDUCATION
There are many educational opportunities planned for the 2026 Conference! You will be able to try your hand at the demonstrations at the open forges with the instructors available for coaching.
COMPETITIONS
In addition to plenty of forges available for open forging and practicing demo projects, there will be nightly contests and blacksmith games. Also, Walter Sorrells will host a knife-making contest.
Start practicing your skills now to compete and win!
