Discovery Days celebrates blacksmithing

Wyoming Discovery Days, Folk Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, August 6-7 in Hot Springs State Park.  Join us as we celebrate Wyoming’s unique cultural heritage through stories, music, food, art, and demonstrations.

A main feature this year will be David Osmundsen, Arrowhead Forge School of Blacksmithing. Osmundsen’s background in iron trade goods from the fur trade binds his love of history with his passion for forging.

As he forges, Osmundsen will teach the history of blacksmithing and explain and demonstrate the general ability to fashion a variety of important items out of iron and steel.

People will be able to see his handmade blacksmithing tools and ask questions, while Osmundsen fashions several different objects throughout the two-day event, using different tools and techniques. 

“My goal”, Osmundsen says, “is not to duplicate nature but to borrow designs from the environment and create functional iron objects using those designs.”

Osmundsen comes to Wyoming Discovery Days from the town of Buffalo. His love of blacksmithing goes deeper than his own roots. His 1890’s home was originally owned by a blacksmithing family and his shop was built on the site where they did some of their work shoeing horses and repairing carriages.

Osmundsen continues this tradition by creating gates, railings, pot racks, along with creating modern forged iron art. He loves sharing this art form with the public through demonstrations and workshops.

If you are interested in blacksmithing be sure to visit Osmundsen during Wyoming Discovery Days.

The festival is open to the public without charge.  Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund and Wyoming Humanities Council have provided special funding to help with the event. There is additional funding from local and state sponsors including the public and private sector.

Visit their website at wyomingdiscoverydays.org by July 15 if you are interested in participating in Wyoming Discovery Days. Accepting: Artists, Craftsman, Trading Post Sellers, Demonstrators, Food Trucks and Breweries. 

Contact info@wyomingdiscoverydays.org for specific inquiries.