Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on September 28, 2026.
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You may be well aware of Pittsburgh's historic iron, glass, and steelmaking past as well as many industrial producers that call the city home to this very day.
Naturally, with its history, Pittsburgh is also home to a thriving industrial arts scene, and the annual Festival of Combustion event at Carrie Furnace merges these two into one with a fun day of live demonstrations, music, and hands-on activities focusing all things industrial arts.
Industrial art with a former steel blast furnace as a backdrop? It doesn't get much more Pittsburgh than that!
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The Festival of Combustion Celebrates the Industrial Arts
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It doesn't take long after arriving at the Festival of Combustion to realize that the industrial arts covers a wide array of mediums.
When walking around, you'll get many glimpses of active metalworking, glassmaking, welding, and so much more with demonstrations and hands-on activities thrown into the mix as well (plus live music and food trucks, naturally).
One of our favorites from our visit was watching hot iron being poured into molds, as the molten material has such a stunning glow about it as it comes out. It is no wonder everyone nearby is decked out from head to toe with safety gear here!
Another demo we always love to see is from the Pittsburgh Glass Center who had a mobile kiln to shape glass as well. (If you've never visited their facility to try glassmaking yourself, it is a lot of fun and you can learn more at the previous link.)
Beyond the festival itself, the lower grounds of Carrie Blast Furnace are also typically partly open to walk around and explore to see the historic steel mill remnants first-hand.
Although the entire facility is typically not open like you would experience on a formal tour, it is always fun to get to see the old ruins of the blast furnace up-close-and-personal, and docents are often found about the crowd to help answer questions you may have about the facility's history, too!
How to Get The Most Out of the Festival of Combustion
As there is a lot to see and experience at the Festival of Combustion, you would do well to plan ahead of time to get the most of the experience.
Although there are demonstrations available throughout the day, the many more hands-on experiences can get fairly long lines relatively early in the day. So for those who want to experience some of the more interactive elements of the festival, going early is a great idea.
On the other hand, the festivities go well into the night. The festival typically runs until about 9 pm, and given that sunset in early October is around 7 pm, this means that there is a fair bit of time to enjoy the festival after the sun dips beyond the horizon.
Why is this one a fun event to attend after dark? Well, molten metal looks pretty darn cool at night, too! (Not to mention, the event has historically ended with a fireworks finale around 8:30 pm. Who doesn't love fireworks?)
We, unfortunately, got to this event earlier and had evening plans prior to the sun going down, and had to miss checking out the festivities when molten metal could illuminate the best. Admittedly, I wanted this for photos, but also it would be rather neat to see in person because it is just that pretty.
As such, this is one of those events where you may want to take a bit of strategy depending on your primary interest. Are you looking for more interactive demos? We'd err on the side of going early. Do you care more about a nighttime experience? Plan to be there until closer to the end. Or, best of all worlds, plan for an entire day there to enjoy the festivities for its full, six hour event!
The next time we attend the Festival of Combustion, that is exactly what we are planning to do.
No matter what, you're bound to have a good time at this one, as the Festival of Combustion does a great job of showcasing Pittsburgh's industrial arts scene all with the historic Carrie Blast Furnace as a backdrop. So don't miss it when it returns each October!
The Festival of Combustion takes place at Carrie Blast Furnaces in Rankin, PA- typically at the beginning of October.
