Please reach us at info@arnfest.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
ArnFest is an annual gathering of machine enthusiasts. It is a celebration of American made vintage woodworking and metal working machines. What started as a small gathering of members of the OWWM.org forums has grown to include people from all over the world and a variety of interest groups. The event consists of various demos, a swap meet, social gatherings, a banquet with a auctions and raffles, and a lot of good people.
Think of ArnFest as a Elvis-like pronunciation of Iron Fest.
ArnFest takes place at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois, see the locations page for more details. The Saturday night banquet takes place at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn.
ArnFest takes place somewhere around the last weekend of September and the first weekend of October. The date fluctuates based on the schedule of IRM and the Holiday Inn.
ArnFest has a variety of tickets available for purchase and lower prices before the beginning of September. Earlier registrations help us plan accordingly for food and space.
All monies after expenses are used to support the OWWM.org and vintagemachinery.org websites and hosting fees. A donation is also made to the IRM woodshop for allowing us access to their facility.
The ArnFest banquet is a provided meal (depending on which pass is purchased) at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake. It is a fun time to relax in air conditioning after a few days spent on the IRM grounds. During the banquet awards are given and short speeches are given, we run a silent auction, do some raffle drawings, and a live auction. The auctions and raffle are significant fundraisers to support the websites and keeping the knowledge of so many available and accessible.
No memberships are required but a lot of fun discussions about the event take place on the OWWM.org forums under the Events section. It is also a great place to ask for help with ruckers, potters, see machines for sale that can be brought to the event, and learn more about a Delta arbor nut than you could ever imagine.
Just click the registration tab and if you can't preregister, just show up.
Yes, we welcome anyone that would like to attend.
There are a variety of things happening at the event and you can participate in as much or as little as you'd like. Each year a machine or two is selected for rebuild and is later auctioned at the banquet. Volunteers to jump in clean, paint, and reassemble machines are always welcome. You can find all sorts of items at the swap meet, take behind the scene tours of some specialty shops at the railway museum, tour the grounds, and meet and socialize with 100 plus people with similar interests. There are also a variety of demonstrations that change from year to year led by volunteers with years of experience happily sharing their knowledge.
Depending on the pass purchased, one can simply browse the sellers or setup a small area to sell your own wares. The parking lot for the swap meet remains closed until the gate is opened at the specified time on the schedule. At that point cars will start filing in to fill the parking lot maintaining a large area so forklifts can operate in the afternoon without moving vehicles. The area for sellers is limited to the width of their vehicle as we have several sellers and space becomes an issue quickly.
Yes, the railway museum usually brings over a small and much larger forklift in the afternoon to move machines during the Rucker's Rodeo. During the event, a Rodeo Boss will be announced and that person will coordinate with the forklift drivers and those needing machines moved.