Author: JP Dean

Categories
Program

Renaissance/Fancy/Exotic Hair Braids

Presented by John F Wardale

Learn to braid har in a style one might see at Renaissance festivals. This workshop will give instruction on ropes, 4-strand “round” braids, classic (3-strand) French and (3-strand) Dutch (or inverted-French or underhand) as well as a Crown braid (technically a horizontal modified (3-strand) French braid) and other advanced ideas like 5 and 7-strand fingering techniques; as well as shapes like hearts, spirals and a pull-up-weave. The workshop will be tailored to the desires and abilities of the audience.

 

John Wardale has been attending SF CONs since 1993 and leading Braiding and Balloon panels since 1995. He is a retired computer professional, and was an organizer for E.L.V.I.S. (The Emergency Link to Vital Internet Services) [1994-1999] John has done these panels/workshops (typically solo) for Gathering/Artistic Events; General and/or Children’s Programming at several CONs over the years, including over a dozen such panels at NASFiC and World Cons.

See the Current 2024 Program

Buy Your Discount Exposition Tickets

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Exposition Updates

11 Weeks until the Exposition!

“Do You Take Sugar? One Lump or Two?”

The Afternoon Tea Party menus have been finalized and we are now able to sell tickets to these delightful gatherings. Guests to each tea party are offered a choice of teas: English Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey, Assam, or Darjeeling. Food served  to accompany the tea consists of: British scone with jam and clotted cream, 2 cucumber sandwiches, 2 egg salad sandwiches, 2 mini eclairs, 2 lemon tartlets, cup of fruit, and 2 Chessmen cookies (for Tea Dueling).

Tickets are limited and tend to sell out quickly, especially for the tables sharing tea with one of our Guests of Honor, so don’t delay.

~~~

The mystery countdown also continues with the latest clue . . .

These clues cards can be used in our immersive live action role-playing game (LARP) Steam & Sorcery; see below for details of the game. Click HERE for the previous clue cards.

Program Updates

As we move closer and closer to the opening of the Exposition, we have more and more presentations and activities to add to the 2024 Program and will be releasing the full schedule in March. See below for details of the latest sessions that we added this week . . .

 

Social Media

On the Horizon . . .
  • The Chicago Steampunk Exposition Film Festival
  • The Goblin King’s Masquerade
  • The Exposition Tea Parlor
  • . . . and more!

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Program

Taming the Toxic Tool Bench

Presented by Danaus & Sidonne – Steampunk Lady Scientists

Have you pondered how toxic the materials are in your workshop? Join Danaus and Sidonne, Lady Scientists, for a discussion of hazards in the maker space and how to ensure your health and safety while fabricating your steampunk costumes and creations.

Danaus and Sidonne delight in the advancement of knowledge as steampunk lady scientists. When they’re not busy adventuring in pursuit of scientific inquiry, they enjoy sharing their love of making with others in workshops and panels. They are also the creators of the Western Territorial Variant of Parasol Dueling. While they may get a little Rowdy and Howdy at times, they are always at the ready to act as Deputies to assist in settling matters of honor with their message of dueling for all.

See the Current 2024 Program

Buy Your Discount Exposition Tickets

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Exposition Updates

12 Weeks until the Exposition!

“Dreams of the Great Old Ones.”

Twelve more weeks remain until the Exposition opens its portals through time, space, and the fabric of reality, powered by the gathering of creative minds and endless imagination . . .

 

      We are the music makers,
          And we are the dreamers of dreams,
      Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
          And sitting by desolate streams; —
      World-losers and world-forsakers,
          On whom the pale moon gleams:
      Yet we are the movers and shakers
          Of the world for ever, it seems.

“Ode” by Arthur O’Shaughnessy.

 

These clues cards can be used in our immersive live action role-playing game (LARP) Steam & Sorcery; see below for details of the game. Click HERE for the previous clue cards.

Program Updates

As we move closer and closer to the opening of the Exposition, we have more and more presentations and activities to add to the 2024 program and will be releasing the full schedule in March. See below for details of the latest sessions that we added this week . . .

Social Media

On the Horizon . . .
  • The Chicago Steampunk Exposition Film Festival
  • The Goblin King’s Masquerade
  • The Exposition Tea Parlor
  • . . . and more!

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Exposition Updates

Three Months until the Exposition!

“The Evil that Hides in the Hearts of Men” ~

13 weeks until the Exposition and, as you can see from our program updates below, 13 places to hide a body at the 1893 World’s Fair. Here is the latest clue card for April’s mystery . . .

These clues cards can be used in our immersive live action role-playing game (LARP) Steam & Sorcery; see below for details of the game. Click HERE for the previous clue cards.

Program Updates

As we move closer and closer to the opening of the Exposition, we have more and more presentations and activities to add to the 2024 program and will be releasing the full schedule in March. See below for details of the latest sessions that we added this week . . .

 

Social Media

On the Horizon . . .
  • The Chicago Steampunk Exposition Film Festival
  • The Goblin King’s Masquerade
  • The Exposition Tea Parlor
  • . . . and more!

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Program

The Beginning of Horror (13+)

Presented by Madame Sarah

People have always gathered around the fire to tell each other scary stories, but how did the horror and science fiction genres that we know and love begin?

Learn about how Mary Shelley and other authors started writing the first novels about the monsters we know and love today.

Madame Sarah studied Literary and Textual Studies and continues to make it everyone else’s problem. She has always been fascinated by the gothic and horrifying tales of the Victorian period. She loves studying history as well as modern literature and movies. Her hobbies include knitting, reading, and playing board games with friends. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her spouse and hopes to own a home with a cute and furry familiar one day.

See the Current 2024 Program

Buy Your Discount Exposition Tickets

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Program

Call of Cthulhu “Servants of the Lake” (18+)

Presented by Kody Raslawski

A missing young man, a distraught sweetheart, and a worried father call for help. You answered the call. Wander the roads of Lovecraft Country; find the missing boy, and hopefully nothing more.


Dice, writing implements, and character sheets will be provided.

This is a scheduled tabletop gaming event – please visit our onsite Gaming Library in Room 1322 for more information and to sign up.

If you are not familiar with the rules of the Call of Cthulhu role playing game but would like to learn them before the Exposition, click on the image below for a free downloadable PDF of the Quick Start Rules.

Kody Raslawski has been running games as a Keeper of Arcane Knowledge in Call of Cthulhu for nine years and is a member of Chaosium’s official Cult of Chaos. He greatly enjoys creating a fun and engaging horror setting to bring the sessions to life.

See the Current Program

Buy Your Discount Exposition Tickets

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Program

13 Places to Hide a Body at the 1893 World’s Fair (13+)

Presented by Scott Cummings

The 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago attracted several million visitors to the biggest event of the Gilded Age—a combination industrial trade show, art exhibit, educational display, and entertainment district. Covering nearly 700 acres, the main fairgrounds and its adjoining Midway Plaisance contained hundreds of buildings, 57 miles of roadway, and 3 miles of intertwining waterways … offering plenty of places to hide a body. That is, if there had there been a devilish serial killer in the White City (there wasn’t!).

In this presentation, we will tour the Columbian Exposition fairgrounds, exploring a dozen or so spots that could have served this nefarious purpose, from quirky exhibits to dark corners to astounding hiding spots in plain sight.

Scott Cummings is an independent researcher and publisher of WorldsFairChicago1893.com, an educational website devoted to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. When not exploring the White City, he has served on the Board of Directors of the International Wizard of Oz Club and as editor-in-chief of its journal. He writes articles and presents talks on a wide range of topics, including renewable energy, obscure theater shows, author L. Frank Baum, and the history of the Chicago fairgrounds.

See the Current 2024 Program

Buy Your Discount Exposition Tickets

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Exposition Updates

14 Weeks until the Exposition

“Happy New Year 1893!” ~

It’s a new year, whether it be 1893 or 2024, and we are now just 14 weeks away from the opening of the next Chicago Exposition! In these remaining weeks the countdown will intensify and before long we will be finishing edits to the program schedule.

There may be a few minor tweaks here and there, but the most part the second edition rules for our Steam & Sorcery LARP game are complete. For those unfamiliar with the game, it is a live action role playing (LARP) game mystery that immerses players in the weekend long storyline. It spans the whole hotel and places you as the central character in your story. During Opening Ceremonies (4/12/24 – 7PM on the main stage) “The Shadow of Nosferatu” mystery will be revealed . . . but who will step forward to solve it? A series of clues spread around the convention space, and interactions with a cast of characters, will lead you deeper and deeper into the investigation of Nosferatu’s plot against the Exposition. To play the game you will need a smart phone QR code reader, a handful of coins (quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies), your wits, and your imagination.

Learn more buy clicking on the Steam & Sorcery link below:

On the subject of the LARP game, here is the latest clue card for April’s mystery . . .

These clues cards can be used in our immersive live action role-playing game (LARP) Steam & Sorcery; see below for details of the game. Click HERE for the previous clue cards.

Exhibitor Updates

We continue to announce the latest artists, exhibitors, and vendors joining us in April 2024. Click on the banners to learn more.

~~~
To see our full lists of confirmed Exhibitors, please visit . . .
We are still accepting applications for our Waiting List. Click Here to apply today!

Social Media

On the Horizon . . .
  • The Chicago Steampunk Exposition Film Festival
  • The Goblin King’s Masquerade
  • The Exposition Tea Parlor
  • . . . and more!

Chicago Steampunk Exposition

Categories
Exposition Updates

16 Weeks until the Exposition

“Liaisons in the Library” ~

In addition to our guest of honor writers, Jim Butcher and Leanna Renee Hieber, we have at least a dozen more Steampunk authors at the Exposition who will be promoting their books, and some who will be giving live readings from them. Our author readings will be scheduled in the Cyan Tea Parlor, immediately next door to Artists’ Alley and Printers’ Row in the Slate Hall. This week we added details (see below) of the first of our readings, and there will be more to come as we countdown the remaining four months.

Meanwhile, here is the latest clue card for April’s mystery . . .

These clues cards can be used in our immersive live action role-playing game (LARP) Steam & Sorcery; see below for details of the game. Click HERE for the previous clue cards.

Program Updates

This week we continued adding details of our presentations, panels, workshops, and other activities to the Program Page . . .

Click here to see more of the 2024 Program

We are still looking for more speakers with knowledge of: Gothic Horror, Steampunk, Victoriana, costuming, maker arts, history, etc.

  • Chicago Steampunk Exposition is able offer Presenters a full weekend badge in exchange for two or more presentations (or relative equivalent).
  • Most sessions are required to be about 45 minutes in length; gaming sessions and certain workshops may require more time. If your session requires more time, please make a note in “Additional” box at the bottom of the form below to let us know.
  • If you would like to be part of the 2024 program and give a presentation, please CLICK HERE for our Presenter Application Form.
Exhibitor Updates

We continue to announce the latest artists, exhibitors, and vendors joining us in April 2024. Click on the banners to learn more.

~~~
To see our full lists of confirmed Exhibitors, please visit . . .
We are still accepting applications for our Waiting List. Click Here to apply today!

Social Media

On the Horizon . . .
  • The Chicago Steampunk Exposition Film Festival
  • The Goblin King’s Masquerade
  • The Exposition Tea Parlor
  • . . . and more!

Chicago Steampunk Exposition