Though fire was indeed a gift from the gods, it was originally given to the Neanderthals, who were later forced to regift it when they remembered humanity's birthday mere minutes before the party. Take advantage of this fortuitous forgetfulness with today's Groupon for classes at Fresno Fire and Metal. Choose between the following options:

• For $100, you get a two-day repoussé class (a $200 value).
• For $30, you get a three-hour beginners' poi fire-spinning class (a $60 value).

The beginners' poi class teaches the fundamentals of poi-spinning techniques without the use of fire.

Fresno Fire and Metal instructs youth and adults in the niceties and nuances of the industrial and fine fiery arts. In the two-day repoussé class, aspiring blacksmiths will learn how to form intricate designs and reliefs on various metals, a technique that can be used to fashion gold and silver jewelry, decorative panels, and dressy plate armor. The classes meet on certain Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Over the course of the 12-hour workshop, metalworking greenhorns will fill their brain basins with the ancient history of the craft, learn the basic metalworking techniques, and finish the weekend with their own project—a 6"x6" copper piece shaped into a design that perfectly expresses the beautiful essence of the soul, or a design that looks like a monkey holding a coconut. A take-home instruction book is included with the class to aid in repoussé adventures at the homestead.

Performance-minded individuals can opt for the poi class to learn the basics of this intricate Maori art. In advanced poi, flaming, tethered balls are swung about the body in complex patterns, creating a mesmerizing spectacle traditionally used to frighten job interviewers into hiring the performer or to hypnotize stuffy zookeepers into opening the condor habitat to the public. In the three-hour beginners' class, students learn about the history and practice of poi as well as the basics of safety before practicing the flameless fundamentals with relatively hazard-free, non-flaming balls.

Upcoming poi classes include sessions on February 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., March 5 from noon to 3 p.m., and March 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Because of the nature of the class and its industrial setting, clothing should be made of cotton or fire-resistant material, and synthetic clothing should be avoided. Closed-toe shoes are required at all times.