CBA Octoberfest Oct 2-4, 2015

[Glenn]

OCTOBERFEST - CBA Event

 

• Start
  October 02, 2015
•  
   
• End
  October 04, 2015
• Location
  Fritz Hagist’s ranch in Cazadero, CA

 

 

 

Octoberfest

DATE: 2-4 October, 2015

LOCATION: Fritz Hagist's ranch, Cazadero CA

COST: open

DESCRIPTION:

The first weekend in October is considered sacred for many California smiths. Hagist Ranch hosts one of the best, most scenic events in blacksmithing. Situated 10 minutes from the Northern California Coast, Oktoberfest is a 3 day, all meals included, camp on premises event. There are generally two demonstration venues and a teaching station. This event is great for getting to know other smiths in the area and experience what could be called a “Blacksmithing Retreat”.

[clang]

This is my all time favorite conference,. It's smaller and It tends to have a larger % of professionals, is more laid back and features camping under the redwoods.

This is the "wine country" and foodies are a major force so the food is often quite good. It's a spectacularly beautiful area.

Attendance is strictly limited ,so register ahead of time.

Big Toby Hickman used the be the voice and a fair amount of the heart of the CBA, especially there. Now that he's gone it seems a little hollow.

It's not unusual to be in fog or rainy conditions, this is coastal Northern CA after all.  The last few miles in is on a dirt road and slow...Worse when it's wet.

Bring everything you might need cause it's a long way to town

It's super dry up there now so no campfires are possible. But last El Nino we were hit with 3" of downpour.

Tailgating can be pretty good and the crowd is friendly.

[phabib]

My 11 year old and I were at the spring conference and had a great time.  We spent nearly all of it at the forge area participating in the project demos and working on them.  On Saturday he put in a 14 hour day before I could get him to go to sleep.  We were going to go to this but the description on the website made us think it would be mostly instruction by 1 person with less chance for the hour or two long "make a XXX" and some time at the forges to try it.  Did we properly understand the flavor of the event or did we blow it by making other plans for the weekend?