About IHEA
IHEA is a non-profit group demonstrating the lost and forgotten arts in connection with Renaissance Festivals, historical reenactments or other educational settings. Our goal is to help others experience the way things were done when their great-grandparents were young or even farther back to the Renaissance Period.
Our volunteers enjoy sharing their time, skills, and love of what we do with others. In doing so we hope to keep alive the joy of creating beautiful, functional objects for everyday living. Come, get to know us, and see what we can help you learn.
Demonstrations
- Blacksmithing
- Chain mail
- Leatherwork
- Tent and sailmaking
- Bow making and flint knapping
- Armor making
- Woodworking and carving
- Pottery
- Weaving, embroidery, spinning, and lucet
In addition to the demonstrations, IHEA volunteers assist in creating art installations at the festival grounds including the Iron Man in the Royal Glade and Karma the Dragon in Wildwood. Many of the metal gates around the grounds were constructed by IHEA blacksmiths.
Our volunteers primarily reside in the Kansas City metropolitan area with others coming from as far as Oklahoma and Arkansas.
