Blacksmiths' group will host first festival in Johnstown

Dave Sutor, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·3 min read

Sep. 27—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America is about to make its grand introduction to the people of Johnstown.

The organization, formed in 1973, selected the city as its first-ever permanent headquarters in 2020. Since then, ABANA has continued its mission to perpetuate the art of blacksmithing while also developing relationships within the local arts community.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, much of the work was done behind the scenes.

That will soon change during the inaugural Iron to Art festival, which will be held Oct. 14-16 at Peoples Natural Gas Park in Johnstown.

The gathering will include demonstrations by groups such as the Patient Order of Meticulous Metalsmiths, classes for the public, displays of work, tool sales and tours of the ABANA headquarters, located in the century-old Johnstown Area Heritage Association-owned train station on Walnut Street.

It was scheduled after ABANA's regular biennial conference was canceled last year.

"Because we now have the headquarters in Johnstown, it is very important that we have something that brings in and introduces the community and the public at large to what we do, as well as picking up, so to speak, the pieces from the 2020 conference," ABANA President Leigh Morrell said. "The demonstrator pool that we are working with for this conference came primarily from the 2020 conference demonstrator pool."

The first two days are primarily about ABANA's business, although public classes are available.

There are $10 gate passes to visit the grounds on Oct. 16.

Spots for classes can be reserved by contacting ABANA at 814-254-4817 or exedir@abana.org. Prices are $55 for a single-day pass for ABANA members and $82 for a single-day nonmember. Three-day passes cost $165 for members and $245 for nonmembers.

Other options, which include lessons, are:

—$30: single-day spouse or child age 13 to 17

—$75: three-day member spouse

—$75: three-day nonmember spouse

—$35: three-day nonmember child age 13 to 17.

"This is a way where we can get hammers in the hands of the people, experiencing the art form and learning with master blacksmiths," said Janie Grela, ABANA's executive director.

ABANA expects the event to showcase why the city was selected for the headquarters.

"Certainly, Johnstown seemed conducive to our organization because of what it had to offer, its history and the impact on the industry of steel and manufacturing processes over the years," Morrell said.

Grela said "there's a great interest in this community" for blacksmithing.

"There's also an interest in this community of forming, maybe, a local group where people can get together as smiths and learn and share," Grela said. "Also, we have many great schools in the region that teach the craft, but it's not always cost-effective for folks, it's not always accessible in that way. So this is a way that someone can get the basics, learn, talk to people who are in the craft for years and decide if it's something they want to pursue."

Consideration is being given to holding future Iron to Art festivals in Johnstown.