Rust And Flame

July 19th – 24th We demonstrated at the Bedford Co. Fair in Shelbyville, Tenn. Shelbyville is the Walking Horse Capital of the World. We were surrounded by wonderful people who we now consider friends and beautiful scenery.

Aug. 9th -14th. We had the priviledge of being the Blacksmith Demonstrator for the Cocke Co. Fair in Newport, Tenn. just about 30 minutes from Gatlinburg. Our booth was near the Poultry Barn so we had an opportunity to meet some amazing young people who were there with their 4-H projects…Chic n Change. They kept detailed records of the baby chicks growth and won ribbons and awards based on the results or the care the chicks received. East Tennessee is definitely one of the most beautiful parts of the U.S.A. in our opinion, and it is home to some great folks!

Wow, what a busy month May has been! Starting with Shady Days in Gay which was fantastic, followed by Hillbilly Mall where the Hound Dog Wedding had to be changed to a Memorial service for Duke, the hound dog groom.  Duke died  just a couple of days before the scheduled ceremony. Our friend John Richardson made the service very memorable as he related Duke’s unconditional love for him to Christ’s amazing love for us.

Tannehill State Park was the 3rd weedend of May where we had a record number of Blacksmith apprentices…42 in one day.  Marvin had also sculpted a large Cross from 10 horseshoes which was just exquisite and a campfire rotissuere set that were both sold the first day.

Westville, the 1850′s village was the next weekend where Marvin is the village blacksmith, followed by the 3rd Annual Day on the River, in Valley, Ala.  A beautiful setting but with high temperatures and lots of humidity that kept a lot of folks home in  air conditioned comfort.

 We had a great time at each event and took tons of photos of our Blacksmith helpers. Check out our gallery for some of the most priceless expressions on kid’s faces you may ever see.

We’re excited about newly scheduled events for the Summer…starting with the 19th and 20th of June at Tannehill State Park Trade Days. We love the festive atmosphere there and the relaxed spirits of families who attend. We’ve already had several repeat apprentices. One 5 year old boy who was waiting for us to arrive last month.

The 18th of July, we’ll start the Bedford County Fair in Shelbyville, Tenn. the walking horse capital of the world.  Then the week of Aug. 9th-14th we’ll travel to the Cocke Co. Fair in Newport ,Tenn.  Aug. 24th-29th we’ll be sharing the week with the Marion Co. Fair in Jasper, Tenn. and the Mid East Regional Fair in Athens, Tenn.  Looking forward to meeting bunches of new Blacksmith Apprentices and their families.

We’re excited about being demonstrators for the 1st Annual Hillbilly Mall “Hound Dog Wagimony”.  Our friend who is Tuskegee’s answer to their own Jeff Foxworthy, is the proud owner of the Hillbilly Mall and also of Duke the hound dog.  It seems that Duke expressed an interest to his owner, John Richardson, that he’d like to “take a wife”. John has succeeded in arranging a marriage for Duke with the less than beautiful, Bella. John has also found a velcro tuxedo  for Duke and an appropriate velcro wedding dress for Bella. The ceremony will be at 2:00 on May 8th the Sat. before Mother’s Day. Tons of entertainment and food vendors will be on hand for the festivities including an Elvis impersonator singing [you guessed it] “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog” and “Love me tender”.  Should be the ultimate experience for you dog lovers.

One of the most popular Festivals in West Central Georgia, Shady Days in Gay is always very well attended.

We’re excited about being demonstrators for this Fair on May 1st and 2nd this year.

Marvin will again be entertaining spectators with his blacksmithing skills as he allows young people to become his apprentices for approximately 10 minutes as they produce a miniature horseshoe key chain together. We have plans to also make small leaf  key chains as well as hearts and feathers with the assistance of young fair goers.

We will also have other hand wrought items for sale…some made from old farm implements!

Another great opportunity to share our Mobile Blacksmith Shop is scheduled for April 24th at Fort Benning, Ga. We’ll be demonstrating blacksmithing at the Uchee Creek, Salute to the South Festival. What fun it is to see the children’s faces as they become Marvin’s apprentices and assist him [ by turning the handle on the blower for his forge ] in making their own miniature horseshoe key chain.  He stresses that each horseshoe is unique…no two are alike with different hammer marks etc.  He then relates that to the fact that they also are unique and special.  The children walk away with a sense of accomplishing something handmade.

Just returned from Tannehill State Park  in Birmingham, Ala. last weekend where we  were part of the opening  of  “ Trade Days 2010″.  Approx. 7,700 visitors came through…an awesome Spring day !

Make sure you know we are just starting out.  Things should get added soon.