Fire on the Mountain Blacksmith Arts Festival in Spruce Pine April 25

Story by Kehren Barbour

Got time to travel? A short trip to Spruce Pine affords time-travel to the Iron Age with the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmith Arts Festival on Saturday, April 25.

As a celebration of the craft produced by the skillful use of hammer and anvil, the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmith Arts Festival will be held in downtown Spruce Pine on April 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with vendors, live demonstrations and opportunities for hands-on experience with teachers and visiting blacksmiths from around the region.

The art and science of metallurgy, which skillfully evolved over 3,000 years to be the process known as blacksmithing, will be demonstrated and celebrated at the festival. With works of renowned blacksmiths Zack Noble, Daniel Miller, Elizabeth Brim, Joe Anderson and other skilled artisans, Fire on the Mountain is an opportunity to learn from artisans through process and product with a view of working forges, a chance to talk with trained artisans and to marvel at finished products available for admiration and purchase.

Lawrence and Daniel Boone VI opened the Spruce Pine Forge in the 1930s. Spruce Pine Forge also has the distinction of having Bea Hensley, one of North Carolina’s Living Treasures, as a resident blacksmith. Hensley worked as an apprentice with the Boones and still resides in Spruce Pine.

Can’t make it to the Saturday event? A blacksmith exhibit is on display at the Toe River Arts Council in downtown Spruce Pine until Saturday, April 25. The exhibit features the eclectic work of many of the area’s blacksmith artisans. Exhibit hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For more information, click to www.toeriverarts.org.

For more information on the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmith Festival, click to www.sprucepinefestivals.com/blacksmith2008.html.

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