Our Demo at Clifton Mansion -- What a Day!

All demos are unique and there is always something surprising, but our demo at Clifton Mansion this past Saturday stood out in the midst of a very busy season.  We were happy to demo at at the newly-restored Clifton Mansion for their 1812 event "A Day at Clifton: After the Battle" but we don't usually show up with our trailer on a tow truck!   This was a first for us.

On the way to the event, our trailer suddenly came unhitched from the truck.  Thankfully, the safety chains held and Jeff was able to get safely to the side of a busy highway.  We are so grateful to the wonderful Baltimore Police officers who helped us with traffic control in the rain for an hour and a half, called an emergency tow truck, and finally waved us off with a reminder that "the show must go on!"

And so it did, with some wonderful helpers (thanks Jeff, Robert and William!) who helped us set up very quickly and efficiently.
 

We discovered that the 1812 event had been combined with the Civic Works Day of Service, where 400 members of the community had served among the community all morning and then returned to Clifton Mansion to enjoy special events and participate in the "After the Battle" historical event.  It was a wonderful opportunity to get to introduce the art of blacksmithing to many people who had never seen it before.

While Jeff taught the guests outside, I took the opportunity to admire the Mansion: 

 

So, despite a surprising start to the rainy day, we ended up blessed to be able to educate appreciative guests and share in Clifton Mansion's celebration of its ongoing-restoration.   

Blacksmithing at the Brunswick Railroad Days

We had a great time at the Brunswick Railroad Days this past weekend!  Beautiful, fall weather.....lots of friendly people very interested in blacksmithing....and trains!  Lots and lots of trains!  We'd never been to Brunswick, Maryland before, but it wasn't long before we felt right at home.  It was a lovely, small town celebration, and we were happy to be a part of it.  We even came home with an athletic booster t-shirt for the Brunswick Railroaders -- "Keep Calm and Steam On"!

 

 

 

 

Demo'ing at Raiders and Invaders in Leonardtown

We had a lot of fun demo'ing at the Raiders and Invaders festival in Leonardtown, Maryland, this past weekend.  This was our first 1812 demo of the season and it was a great start!

 It was a lot of fun to hear "The British are coming!!!" throughout the day and see the various theatrical performances.  The festival was laid out over most of the downtown area, including all the way to the wharf, so there was something to see everywhere you looked.

The people who came to the event were super friendly and we enjoyed getting to know them.  It was also wonderful to look up and see one of Jeff's students in the audience -- if he'd had his costume, we'd have loved to have him work with us for the day.

 We demo'd at the edge of town, greeting most of the visitor to the fair.  Because our friend Vince was forging with us for the day, we were able to have 2 anvils going all the time, along with the "kid-friendly" anvil (with aluminum that doesn't need to be heated to bend).

 As our 1st 1812 demo of our summer season, I got to try out my Regency-style costume for the year and realized that I desperately need a spencer and a few other additions to my outfit!   I was very sun-burnt by the end of the day (despite sunscreen) and have a new understanding of the Regency-style dresses.  Walking down the street in the afternoon on a break while Jeff continued to forge, I heard a little boy describe me as a "funny princess" to his mother-- I had thought it was because of my long dress, sunglasses and camera, but it might have had more to do with my red back in the long dress!

What a fun day!  Many thanks to the people of Leonardtown and the organizers of Raiders and Invaders!