About

Canada’s National Blacksmith Conference

Since 1997, CanIRON has been the premier biennial blacksmithing gathering, aimed at fostering friendship, collaboration, and skills development. The initial purpose of the event was for the betterment of all who attend, to exchange thoughts, ideas, procedures, technology, etc. and then take the knowledge back to their home blacksmith groups and share.

“This event is not just for people who are practicing blacksmiths. It will inspire artists and designers of all media, anyone with an involvement or interest in metal, and those who are totally unfamiliar with the craft” –G.Haverstock, CBBA president

Held every second year, CanIRON moves west to east across Canada and is hosted alternately by eastern and western Canadian blacksmithing associations. The conference features presenters and demonstrators from a wide variety of metal working disciplines.

Interestingly, there is no permanent organizing committee. Each committee passes the « big hat » to motivated blacksmiths of the next host province, coaches them and gives them the responsibility to carry on the tradition in their own style.

A Brief History of CanIRON

The seeds of CanIRON started out on a July weekend in 1995 at the O’Keefe Ranch, near Vernon, BC as a picnic for the Vancouver Island Blacksmiths Association (VIBA). In 1997 the event launched in its official format as a biennial Canadian Blacksmith Conference, held on the odd-numbered years between ABANA conferences.

CanIRON I was held on the July 1st weekend in 1997, at the O’Keefe Ranch, near Vernon, BC and was a great success! There were blacksmiths from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Alaska in attendance and demonstrators included John Adolph, Derry Cook, Jerry Culberson, Joe Delisimunovic, Hank McEwan, Daryll Nelson, John Smith (Kootenay Forge), Dorothy Stiegler, and Berkley Tack.

Read more about the history of CanIRON

Contributors & Hosts

Vancouver Island Blacksmiths Association (VIBA)

Western Canadian Blacksmith Guild (WCBG), Alberta Chapter

Western Canadian Blacksmith Guild (WCBG), Saskatchewan Chapter

Ontario Artist Blacksmiths Association (OABA)

Maritime Blacksmith Association (MBA)

La Confrérie des forgerons du Québec

Cape Breton Blacksmith Association (CBBA)

Kootenay Blacksmith’s Association

Northern Alberta Blacksmith’s Guild

Southern Alberta Blacksmith’s Guild

Saskatchewan Blacksmith’s Guild

Qu’est-ce Que Le CanIRON?

Un rassemblement de forgeron organisé chaque deux ans à travers le Canada.

Le premier Caniron fut tenu à Vernon, en Colombie Britannique, juin 1997. Depuis lors, l’événement a eu lieu à tous les deux ans dans différentes provinces du Canada avec l’espoir de rassembler des forgerons professionnels et amateurs d’Amérique du nord, de créer des opportunités de partage, d’apprentissage et de simplement se retrouver.

L’événement fut tenu successivement en C-B, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario et Nouvelle-Écosse. Le prochain aura lieu pour la première fois au Québec et on espère de le voir se réaliser dans les maritimes les années subséquentes.

Point particulier : il n’y a pas de comité permanent d’organisation. Chaque comité passe le flambeau à des forgerons motivés de la province suivante, les aiguillonnent et leur donne la responsabilité de poursuivre la tradition.

Les participants à chaque événement doivent payer pour avoir accès au site. Ils peuvent apprendre auprès des maîtres invités qui performent des démonstrations de leurs habiletés : forge coutelière, pattern-welding, ferronnerie, forge mécanique, etc. Les frais d’entrée sont gardés au minimum, mais comme les événements jouissent rarement de commanditaires importants, ils demeurent la principale source de financement.