Rivers of Steel, 2023 Festival of Combustion Recap

Rivers of Steel celebrated industrial arts and American craft at the Carrie Blast Furnaces in October, 2023. I attended the event and participated in a few fun activities, including making custom aluminum coaster and a ceramic mosaic craft. Iron pour was the main attraction of the festival, and I captured a few pictures from the iron pour process. 

There were also demonstrations by blacksmiths, welders, glassblowers, and metal fabricators as well as a great band with live music. 

The festival was held at the Carrie Blast Furnaces, a former blast furnace located along the Monongahela River in the Pittsburgh area industrial town of Swissvale, Pennsylvania. The Carrie Furnaces operated between 1884 and 1982. Visitors can tour the Furnaces for an additional fee to learn about its history and heritage. Overall, it was a cool and authentic festival that highlighted Pittsburgh's legacy of steel production that could be summed up as a mesmerizing spectacle of roaring flames and molten metal.