At the beginning of the month I had the pleasure of attending the Georgia Bushcraft Fall Gathering with Knives by Nuge. The event is in its 11th year and each year that passes it grows larger. The event was originally designed for people who were interested in attending a series of classes relating to outdoor survival and bushcraft skills, but it has since grown to have so much more. While the emphasis on courses still exists, the Fall Gathering now has a large number of vendors including knife makers and retailers, as well as a slew of leather crafts, nylon gear, and other assorted outdoor and EDC gear makers. The Fall Gathering runs for 3 days at the beginning of November, and is held on a large farm property in Watkinsville, Georgia. The event has attendance options that include weekend camping passes that will allow attendees to camp on site in tents or in an RV, but if camping isn't your thing you can grab a day pass. Let’s take a deeper look at what the Georgia Bushcraft Fall Gathering has to offer.
The Classes
Everyday at the gathering is loaded with classes that you can sign up for, most of which are covered by the cost of admission. The topics vary amongst many areas of wilderness survival and self-reliance, including but not limited to woodcraft, foraging, wilderness medicine, cooking, tracking, and using natural materials to create tools. Even if you aren’t the most outdoorsy person, topics such as first aid and knife making are also covered throughout the day. The courses are presented by experienced members of the community, professional instructors, and even some former participants on the hit survival show Alone. What makes the Fall Gathering so special is that it is a family friendly event, and there are even classes that are geared towards children. No matter if you are a hardcore survivalist, outdoor enthusiast, or just someone who is into being a little more self reliant there is sure to be a few interesting classes to attend!
The Vendors
This year the Georgia Bushcraft Fall Gathering hosted over 100 vendors, making it a great opportunity to snag some new gear and talk to the people who make it! While there was not much in the way of folding knives, if you are into fixed blades there were some truly phenomenal makers there. There were some true titans of the industry there including Smoky Mountain Knife Works, Rivers Edge Cutlery, ESEE Knives, LT Wright, and Condor. There were also some popular smaller makers including Exodus Knife and Tool, Bear Forest Knives, AA Forge, American Tomahawk Company, Cohutta Knives, Warlander Enterprises, Malone Knives, the Woods Monkey, Knives by Nuge and many more! This provides knife enthusiasts with the great opportunity to see and handle some of their favorite makers work in person, as well as pick up some show exclusive models in a much more laid back environment when compared to something like Blade Show.
There was so much more than just knives, there were also some great gear from popular nylon bag and pouch makers gear like Tuff Possum and Blue Ridge Overland Gear. If you like your organization to have a more classic aesthetic, PNWBUSHCRAFT was there with a wide assortment of their waxed canvas outdoor and EDC gear. If you are looking for some gear that tastefully combines waxed canvas, nylon, and leather Badger Claw Outfitters has you covered with an assortment of EDC, outdoor, and hunting gear. Wazoo was in attendance with an assortment of stylish practical pendants and functional fabric. If you are in the market for some serious EDC tools Rogan was there with a variety of pry tools and more! I could keep going but I think the point is made, Georgia Bushcraft has really made the effort to make the Fall Gathering a premier vendor event!
The Food and the Nightlife
While the day is jam packed with awesome classes and top tier vendors, the food and the nightlife were equally as amazing. There were some great food options including local BBQ and some visiting food trucks and great coffee from Bushcraft Coffee Co. The evenings kicked off with raffles with opportunities to win some really great gear from the vendors in attendance. After the raffles finished up, the communal fire pits got started and live music was performed on the barn stage. Even after the formal music performances ended there were quite a few guitars to be found around the community fire pits. Even after the community pits died down around 11pm or so there were many smaller fire pits around to find some friendly faces and good conversation.
To Sum it up…
If you love camping, the outdoors, and outdoor skills this is one event you don’t want to miss! If you love knives, outdoor and EDC gear this is an event you don’t want to miss! If you love gathering with 1000 plus like minded people this is an event you don’t want to miss! There is a lot going on here and it definitely blurs the lines bushcraft, self reliance, and EDC; there is truly something for everyone. The Georgia Bushcraft Fall Gathering brings all sorts of people together including educators, makers, and some notable people from the outdoor and EDC communities. The Fall Gathering is just one of the events hosted by Georgia Bushcraft; they also host an array of classes throughout the year as well as the smaller but equally as awesome Spring Campout in April. Be sure to check out their website and social media profiles to stay up to date as to what they have going on and I hope to see you at the next gathering!
https://www.georgiabushcraft.com/
https://instagram.com/georgiabushcraft
A very special thanks to Brian at the Woods Monkey, Heather and Todd from PNWBUSHCRAFT and Mel of the Mountains for sending me the photos for this article!
