Annual trades event brings traditional building trades craftspeople from around the world to demonstrate their crafts in unique hands-on presentations in Belmont County.
The Preservation Trades Network (PTN), in partnership with the Building Preservation/Restoration (BPR) Program at Belmont College, is pleased to announce that they will be holding PTN’s annual International Preservation Trades Workshop (IPTW) on the campus of Ohio University-Eastern on May 19th through the 21st. The event will take place near the S&E Building where Belmont College’s Building Preservation/Restoration program is housed.
“This annual event brings traditional building trades craftspeople from around the world to demonstrate their crafts in unique hands-on presentations,” said Mr. Dave Mertz, BPR Program Chair. “This will be the third time Belmont College has hosted the event which has also been hosted internationally Lincoln, England; Historic Scotland; Stirling, Scotland (2019); and Tällberg, Sweden.”
This year’s conference kicks off with an opening reception to be held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Wheeling on Wednesday evening, May 18th. The conference begins in earnest on the morning of Thursday May 19th after opening remarks with two morning sessions, a lunch break, and an afternoon session before the annual PTN Business Meeting and the Keynote Address to be given by woodworking author George Walker. Thursday night will feature a BPR Student/Alumni Reunion (open to the public) at Belmont Brewerks in Martins Ferry. Friday, May 20th will feature two sessions in the morning, lunch and two sessions in the afternoon with a Stained-Glass exhibit at the barn at Sandscrest Foundation and a Pub Crawl in Wheeling on Friday night.
Saturday, May 21st will feature two sessions in the morning and tours in the afternoon of Mount Pleasant and Downtown Wheeling for attendees.
In the afternoon from 1:30 – 4:00 pm on Saturday, May 21st, PTN will open the event to the public with free admission. Belmont College BPR students along with some conference demonstrators will provide a wide variety of craft demonstrations from stone carving to tile making and encourage all visitors to try their hand at many of these demonstrations. This “Public Day” session, held on the campus of Ohio University-Eastern, is made possible by the gracious support of the Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC), a division of the National Park Service located in Frederick, MD. Representatives of HPTC and Belmont College will be available to discuss the BPR Degree Program and HPTC’s Traditional Trades Apprenticeship Program (TTAP) which many Belmont graduates have pursued after graduation.
Mertz continued, “If you have ever contemplated a career in the historic preservation trades, have an interest in history, architecture, construction, or art, this is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.”
On Saturday evening the event concludes with the annual PTN dinner and auction at the Scottish Rite Cathedral. Proceeds from the auction are used to fund scholarships to future IPTW conferences and a student/apprenticeship exchange program with participating organizations in Europe.
For more information about registering for the conference, please contact the Preservation Trades Network at www.ptn.org. If you would like more information about “Public Day,” please contact Dave Mertz at dmertz@belmontcollege.edu or call 740-695-9500 ext4002 and leave a message.
Original source can be found here.
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