Category: Exposition Updates

Only FIVE months remain until the Exposition spins its giant Ferris wheel time portal to open the gates to the 1893 that never was, so let’s review what’s been newly added this week.

We eagerly continue to countdown to June when we welcome special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful!

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Program Updates

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

• Through the Looking Glass: Ways of Seeing in 19th Century Art
• What Art Was Everybody Else Doing Anyway: Non-Western Art in the 19th Century.

If you would like to propose a panel, gaming session, presentation, workshop, or other things for the 2026 Exposition Program, please fill out our Application for Presenters form.

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Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

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On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

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2026 continues to move forward and the Exposition continues to coalesce. So let’s review what’s been newly added this week as we continue the countdown to this June’s Chicago Steampunk Exposition with special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful!

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Program Updates

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

• A Magical Guide to Wonderland

If you would like to propose a panel, gaming session, presentation, workshop, or other things for the 2026 Exposition Program, please fill out our Application for Presenters form.

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Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

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On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

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2026 is here, heralding the coming of this June’s Chicago Steampunk Exposition with special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful!

Work is now underway for an updated version of the Steam & Sorcery LARP game rules that will go to press this summer as a universal system, but attendees of the 2026 Exposition will get to play it first this June. This Live Action Role Playing game allows players to immerse themselves into the weekend’s “Wonderland” storyline and help shape the outcome of the plot by finding clues, combating adversaries, solving mysteries, and generally having fun 🙂

In honor of (or fear of) the Queen of Hearts (pictured above), we are returning Steam & Sorcery to its original playing card based system, but this version will aim to have the highest number to secure success. Players will cut a deck of cards and add the result to the relevant skill level on their character sheet to determine outcomes to the various game challenges. The deck, however, is full of rewards and trickery that may help or hinder players; more details coming as we continue the countdown to June 2026.

Steam & Sorcery is free to play, but you will need to bring your own deck of playing cards.

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Program Updates

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

• Lewis Carol the Mathematician
• Hoaxes, Hucksters, and Humbugs (13+)

If you would like to propose a panel, gaming session, presentation, workshop, or other things for the 2026 Exposition Program, please fill out our Application for Presenters form.

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Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

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On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

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2026 is almost upon us and we wish you all a Brave New Year. A new year is filled with excitement, anxiety, potential, and for us it heralds the coming of this June’s Chicago Steampunk Exposition!

Thank you for joining us in the countdown to welcoming special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful.

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Program Updates

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

• The Garden of Live Flowers Fascinators
• “Rivets and Revolution” ~ A Steampunk Interpretation of the American Revolutionary War (13+)

If you would like to propose a panel, gaming session, presentation, workshop, or other things for the 2026 Exposition Program, please fill out our Application for Presenters form.

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Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

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On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

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We are now LESS than half a year away from passing through the looking glass into the 1893 Chicago Exposition turned topsy-turvy into a realm of absurdity, whimsy, and wonder! In another month we will be exactly half a year away so it is time to begin our weekly updates as we countdown to welcoming special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful.

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Program Updates

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

• 45 Clothing Innovations
• Dungeons & Dragons – The Manxone Foe (18+)

If you would like to propose a panel, gaming session, presentation, workshop, or other things for the 2026 Exposition Program, please fill out our Application for Presenters form.

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Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

---

On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

---

We are now half a year away from passing through the looking glass into the 1893 Chicago Exposition turned topsy-turvy into a realm of absurdity, whimsy, and wonder! In another month we will be exactly half a year away so it is time to begin our weekly updates as we countdown to welcoming special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful.

---

Program Updates

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

• Red Queens: Serial Killer Noblewomen (13+)
• Dungeons & Dragons – “Silver Bell” (18+)

If you would like to propose a panel, gaming session, presentation, workshop, or other things for the 2026 Exposition Program, please fill out our Application for Presenters form.

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Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

 

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

---

On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

---

We are now 28 weeks away from passing through the looking glass into the 1893 Chicago Exposition turned topsy-turvy into a realm of absurdity, whimsy, and wonder! In another month we will be exactly half a year away so it is time to begin our weekly updates as we countdown to welcoming special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful.

---

Program Updates

The Exposition is currently putting together the 2026 Program for your amusement and education. We list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

This week we added the following panels and presentations to the Schedule:

• Animal Tricksters: Myriad Tales of the White Rabbit’s Kin (13+)
• Otherworlds Before Wonderland (13+)

If you would like to propose a panel, gaming session, presentation, workshop, or other things for the 2026 Exposition Program, please fill out our Application for Presenters form.

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Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

There are still Artist & Writer Tables available in The Midway Market; to apply, please fill out our Application for Exhibitors form

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The Exposition at Other Conventions

Last weekend members of our crew were time traveling with Doctor Who at Chicago TARDIS, promoting the Exposition, presenting a panel on “The Victorian Doctor,” and running games in their Gaming Citadel (pictured above). The game was a mash-up of Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who Role Playing Game and Chaosium’s Cthulhu by Gaslight to form Torchwood by Gaslight, an 1889 adventure in which players are “Agents of the Crown” in the ten-year-old Torchwood Institute, investigating sightings of aliens and their technology.

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

---

On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

---

We are now 29 weeks away from passing through the looking glass into the 1893 Chicago Exposition turned topsy-turvy into a realm of absurdity, whimsy, and wonder! In another month we will be exactly half a year away so it is time to begin our weekly updates as we countdown to welcoming special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful.

---

Exposition Exhibitors

This week we highlighted the following exhibitors whom you will find in the Exposition halls.

We have four main exhibitor spaces:

• The Underground Market (Sienna) for Vendors.
• The Midway Market (Slate) for Artists, Musicians, & Writers.
• The Hall of Curiosities (Mahogany 4) for Displays.
• Hallway Exhibitors (Atrium Lobby & Hallways) for Organizations and Fan Groups.

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The Exposition at Other Conventions

Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the first episode of Doctor Who and the Exposition is excited to be part of next weekend’s Chicago TARDIS convention. We shall be giving a presentation titled “The Victorian Doctor” (Sunday 12PM) which surveys the Doctor’s adventures in Victorian Britain and the Steampunk motifs that permeate the show.

Additionally, we shall be running games in their Gaming Room, a Victorian London adventure called “A Study in Flax” in which the newly established Torchwood Institute investigates reports of alien technology and murder! The game will use the Cthulhu by Gaslight system, no experience is necessary, and all materials are supplied. “A Study in Flax” runs for approximately three hours, the Saturday session starts at 10AM, and the Sunday session starts at 2PM.

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The Program

Over the next nine months the Exposition is putting together the 2026 Program for amusement and education. We are currently accepted session proposals. Please CLICK HERE for more information.

We will list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

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Exhibitor Updates

For 2026 we have FOUR exhibitor spaces.

• The Underground Market remains downstairs in Sienna
• The Midway Market (formerly known as Artists’ Alley and Printers’ Row) is in Slate.
• Hallway Exhibitors in the Atrium Lobby, the North hallway, the South hallway, and the Central hallway.
• The Hall of Curiosities in Mahogany 4.

The Exhibitor Application Form is available now!

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

---

On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

---

We are now 30 weeks away from passing through the looking glass into the 1893 Chicago Exposition turned topsy-turvy into a realm of absurdity, whimsy, and wonder! In another month we will be exactly half a year away so it is time to begin our weekly updates as we countdown to welcoming special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful.

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The Exposition at Other Conventions

Last weekend, the Exposition Crew had a great time chasing the White Rabbit through Teslacon’s Nordic folklore and crossing the Bifröst to Wonderland (picture above)!

We also had a VERY successful first year of sponsoring and running the new Teslacon Gaming Room which offered 45 hours of tabletop gaming (picture below). The Vaesen RPG was the main game on offer, to fit with the weekend’s theme and inspiration, and the vast majority of sessions had a full table of players.

We are happy to announce that the Exposition shall run the Teslacon Gaming Room again in November 2026 and is already planning a wider selection of games that will include Cthulhu by Gaslight and Dungeons & Dragons 5E compatible Oz themed scenarios.

Later this month, the Exposition will be at Chicago TARDIS presenting a panel of Doctor Who’s adventures in Victorian Britain and the Steampunk motifs that permeate the longest running Sci-Fi TV show. Additionally, we shall be running games in their Gaming Room, a Victorian London adventure in which the newly established Torchwood Institute investigates reports of alien technology and murder!

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The Program

Over the next nine months the Exposition is putting together the 2026 Program for amusement and education. We are currently accepted session proposals. Please CLICK HERE for more information.

We will list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

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Exhibitor Updates

For 2026 we have FOUR exhibitor spaces.

• The Underground Market remains downstairs in Sienna
• The Midway Market (formerly known as Artists’ Alley and Printers’ Row) is in Slate.
• Hallway Exhibitors in the Atrium Lobby, the North hallway, the South hallway, and the Central hallway.
• The Hall of Curiosities in Mahogany 4.

The Exhibitor Application Form is available now!

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

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On the Horizon . . .

• Our NEW newsletter!
• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!

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The countdown continues to June 12th 2026 when we shall welcome special guests Gail Carriger, UnWoman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and a number of other people who make Steampunk truly wonderful.

Tickets for 2026 are selling, rooms are available to book, the exhibitor halls are filling up fast, and another amazing Exposition is coming together nicely; please see below for more details.

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Exposition Gaming at other Conventions

We are still nine months away from our “Adventures in Wonderland,” but in October and November you can play a variety of tabletop role-playing games with some of our Chicago Steampunk Exposition game masters.

• October 11th and 12th, the Exposition will be running games at Hallow-Fest in Naperville, IL
• November 6th to 9th, the Exposition will be running the Gaming Parlor at Teslacon in Madison, WI with mostly the Vaesen RPG to match the convention’s theme of Nordic folklore.

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Buy Early & Win Prizes!

Tickets are already selling for the 2026 Chicago Steampunk Exposition and we are close to reaching the first 100! These Weekend Badges will automatically be entered into a prize drawing to be held during Opening Ceremonies on Friday, June 12th, 2026. There will be four categories for the drawing: the first 20, 30, 60, and then all of the first 100. The winners for each category will be determined by the roll of dice, starting with a d20, then moving to d30, d60, and finally the d100. Each of the first 100 weekend badges sold for 2026 will have a badge number along the bottom identifying the order in which it was purchased.

Pre-sale badges have your name printed on them in a fancy font (designed to look like it is etched in brass), so please include “badge names” in the “Order Notes” section of the check out form. In addition to your name, badges will also be labeled with the purchaser’s last name and order number for reference in case lost badges get turned into Registration; that said, however, please remember that lost badges that are not turned in can not be replaced and a new purchase will be required.

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The Program

Over the next nine months the Exposition is putting together the 2026 Program for amusement and education. We are currently accepted session proposals. Please CLICK HERE for more information.

We will list session descriptions as we countdown to June 12th, 2026, and should have the full and final schedule online by mid-April, 2026.

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Exhibitor Updates

For 2026 we have FOUR exhibitor spaces.

• The Underground Market remains downstairs in Sienna
• The Midway Market (formerly known as Artists’ Alley and Printers’ Row) is in Slate.
• Hallway Exhibitors in the Atrium Lobby, the North hallway, the South hallway, and the Central hallway.
• The Hall of Curiosities in Mahogany 4.

The Exhibitor Application Form is available now!

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Social Media

• • LIKE the Chicago Steampunk Expo page on Facebook for regular updates!
  • RSVP to our Facebook event page!
  • JOIN the Chicago Steampunk Exposition Adventurers’ Club group of Facebook to make plans with other steampunks!
  • Yes, it’s all Facebook, but when we start posting on other platforms, we’ll be sure to add them to this list.

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On the Horizon . . .

• Exhibitor updates!
• Programming updates!
• Eating more figs and giving up dates!

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