Francois de Radzitzky is pictured.

MAYVILLE — Francois de Radzitzky, a bell-ringer from Belgium, will teach the hunting horn on Saturday, July 29.

The day long event will be hosted by Clear Creek Farm in Mayville. The purpose of the workshop is to introduce and promote the hunting horn used in the hunt still in 11 different countries. Bell-ringer or “sonneur” in French, are words to describe a hunting horn player.

The Federation Nationale des Trompes de France, an international organization composed of players and enthusiasts of the hunting horn, is sponsoring Radzitzky’s visit. He is traveling from Belgium to teach the workshop.

“There are around 5000 FITF members worldwide, with the majority in France and Belgium,” said Dr. John Gerber, USA director of the FITF. “The use of Trompe de Chasse, or hunting horn in the hunt has not changed for hundreds of years.”

Dr. Gerber said short fanfares communicate between hunters , not only identifying the animal but also the circumstances such as the “fox-went-into-hole”, or “the deer-is-crossing-the-river.”

Radzitzky said he discovered the hunting horn “because my family was a member of the ‘Rallye Vielsalm’ hunting deer in the Belgian Ardennes.” He quickly graduated to playing with other bell-ringers joining the famous “Cercle Royal Saint Hubert” in Brussels and with “Les Veneurs de la Meuse” in Dinant (Belgium). He teaches the hunting horn to 30 students in Namur. He is also the FITF president in Belgium.

The Saturday event is free and open to the public. Registration begins at 9 a.m. followed by three 45-minute sessions. Lunch is provided. For more information, call Gerber at 814-777-0038.