The Tidewater Blacksmith’s Guild is dedicated to preserving the craft of blacksmithing and increasing public awareness of the history of our craft, while at the same time demonstrating that in this automated machine world, things hand-made still exist and remain objects of art. The Tidewater Blacksmith’s Guild is a local member organization chartered under the Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America Inc. (ABANA), a non-profit organization.
If you would like to have the Tidewater Blacksmiths Guild to demonstrate at your event, here’s what you should know:
If you would like to have the Tidewater Blacksmiths Guild to demonstrate at your event, here’s what you should know:
- We are professional in our approach and will present a close-up look at the art of blacksmithing. We can set up our own tents, or we can use your facility.
We are a non-profit, insured, 501(c)7 group.
- We are available for any public, private, or school event.
- We are capable of providing talks on the different aspects of blacksmithing and work well with museums, schools, and events of a cultural/historic nature either educational or just for fun. We love working with children and enjoy letting them see what blacksmithing is all about.
- We typically do not require additional accommodation at an event, so there are no hidden extra costs. Simply put, accommodation fees shall be agreed upon in advance.
We do work with open fires in our forges, but we can use propane forges if open flames are a safety issue.
We look forward to working with you.
TIDEWATER BLACKSMITH’S GUILD HISTORY
The Guild had it’s beginnings in the fall of 1995. Mitch Linden, TBG’s founding President, got a list of local blacksmith’s from ABANA, and called around to see if anyone was interested in forming an ABANA chapter. The first meeting was held in November 1995 at the Career Development Center in Va. Bch., where Jon Cookson was an Instructor, and had volunteered the shop space. Read more…