Category: Program

PRESENTED BY: Jade Rogers

What if there were no barriers to social, political or educational pursuits for Black people in the 1880’s United States?

This presentation will look at the intersections of Afrofuturism and Steampunk, how it manifests today and explore the world of possibilities.

Jade Rogers is a Historian, an adjunct professor at Metropolitan Community College and the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of The House of Afros, Capes, & Curls. After receiving a B.A. in Black Studies and Elementary Education, she obtained a Master’s in African American World Studies from the University of Iowa. She has also completed all course work towards her PhD in History at Morgan State University and has training as an Archivist and Oral Historian.

Jade has taught on the elementary level in the District of Columbia Public Schools, and the University of Iowa as well. She has worked with numerous non-profit youth serving organizations including Boys & Girls Clubs of Omaha and Greater Washington in Maryland, Girls Inc., The Center for Holistic Development and most recently served as the Youth Engagement Manager at The Union for Contemporary Arts. Building community and service are a part of Jade’s strong belief system. A Class XIX graduate from Heartland Blueprint, a United Way of the Midlands program to help increase minority racial/ethnic volunteer leadership, and she has served on many education and non-profit executive boards.

With over 20 years of teaching and community engagement experience, she strives to raise the visibility of the tremendous contributions and accomplishments of African Americans in the Midwest. For The Great Plains Black History Museum, she has served as its Archivist, facilitates public programs on a variety of historical topics and also conducts Oral History and Genealogy workshops. And…she’s a blerd at heart. Science fiction, fantasy, World of Warcraft, The Sims and Octavia Butler. Star Wars + Star Trek + the X-Men hold equal space in her heart.

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Presented by Michael Parodi 

Are you ready to take your steampunk to the next level?

Do your goals and aspirations not match you pocket book?

This panel will help you with tips and ideas to wow and bedazzle your fellow con goers with your phantasmagorical embellishments. Break the mold without breaking the bank.

Michael Parodi retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Army after 30 years of Active and Reserve duty in the U.S. Army. He is a true to life airship commander. He currently manages a fleet of eight aerostats supporting national and border security for the United States.

Countless hours of Michael’s youth were spent watching classic movies like “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, “First Men in the Moon”, “The Lost World”, and “The Time Machine.” When not engrossed with the small black and white screen, he was enthralled with the novels and short stories of HG Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Robert A. Heinlein and Frank Herbert. These great works fostered Michael with a vivid imagination, and he discovered at an early age that he also had a talent for costuming. It was an easy step to make the characters in his imagination come alive. Now, after over 50 years of passion and dedication, he has become an aficionado of fantasy and science fiction.

Michael spends time on a variety of projects using several mediums. Michael’s interests and techniques fluctuate depending on the project and the whims of his muse. He is especially drawn to Steampunk because the Victorian aesthetic feeds well into the movies and books he loved the most in his youth. Drawing on his experiences traveling around the world, and immersing himself into various cultures – he brings an extraordinary level of inventive detail to his creations.

He is the proprietor and master artist of Master Creations, Enterprises located in Hayes, Virginia. He and his team have received multiple accolades and awards for his costumes, props and vehicles across the United States. He is also a member of the Hatton Cross Steampunk family. He is currently working on two novels and is continuing to create wondrous contraptions.

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Presented by Michael Parodi 

• Do you want to add lights and other types of electronics to your costumes and accoutrements?
• Do you want to let your inner 5-year-old out to play?
• Do you want to have people say “Oooh” and “Ahhh” when they see your costume and your gadgets?
• Are you a person who wouldn’t know Ohm’s law from an Oompa Loompa or thinks resistors are something the Borg says is futile?
• Then THIS may be the panel for you!

First and foremost, I am a program manager in my day job NOT an engineer.  When it comes to electronics, my motto is “Keep it Simple and SAFE!”. Sit with me. We’ll talk and demonstrate some simple ways to add lights and other electronics to your costumes. Come learn from my mistakes and hopefully, I can save you from making the same ones I have and save you some time and maybe money.

Michael Parodi retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Army after 30 years of Active and Reserve duty in the U.S. Army. He is a true to life airship commander. He currently manages a fleet of eight aerostats supporting national and border security for the United States.

Countless hours of Michael’s youth were spent watching classic movies like “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, “First Men in the Moon”, “The Lost World”, and “The Time Machine.” When not engrossed with the small black and white screen, he was enthralled with the novels and short stories of HG Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Robert A. Heinlein and Frank Herbert. These great works fostered Michael with a vivid imagination, and he discovered at an early age that he also had a talent for costuming. It was an easy step to make the characters in his imagination come alive. Now, after over 50 years of passion and dedication, he has become an aficionado of fantasy and science fiction.

Michael spends time on a variety of projects using several mediums. Michael’s interests and techniques fluctuate depending on the project and the whims of his muse. He is especially drawn to Steampunk because the Victorian aesthetic feeds well into the movies and books he loved the most in his youth. Drawing on his experiences traveling around the world, and immersing himself into various cultures – he brings an extraordinary level of inventive detail to his creations.

He is the proprietor and master artist of Master Creations, Enterprises located in Hayes, Virginia. He and his team have received multiple accolades and awards for his costumes, props and vehicles across the United States. He is also a member of the Hatton Cross Steampunk family. He is currently working on two novels and is continuing to create wondrous contraptions.

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Presented by Steampunk Santa 

Santa’s Toy Box will be open in Room 1322 at Chicago Steampunk Exposition 2024!

• Friday – 4PM to 10PM
• Saturday – 10AM to 10PM
• Sunday – 10AM to 4PM

Steampunk Santa will have a collection of games from his library in the Gaming Hall this year!  Various board and card games will be available for you to play and learn.  Spend a few minutes, or a few hours if you wish.  Thematic games, including Worlds Fair 1893 and Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents, will be available, as well as other appropriate Steampunk fun!  Santa will be on hand to teach as well.

CLICK HERE to see Steampunk Santa’s full range of games available.

Santa’s Toy Box is a game library based in Toledo, Ohio, hosted by Santa Claus! Santa will bring selected titles to your event or convention for your guests to try out various games. Usually, games can be taught, although for larger events, teaching will be limited based on the number of simultaneous games. Santa can also bring appropriate games to your business for team building events!

Most titles in the collection are Euro-style games, although there are several classic American games available as well. The games are recommended for families to play together, especially with older children (12+). There are titles that the youngest (5+) can play, either on their own, or with supervision. Younger children (14 and under) should be supervised by an older family member.

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Presented by Mary Prince (Materials Fee $10)

How will you disguise yourself for the Masquerade? Half-mask? Veil? Exotic tiara? I will bring lace masks, tiaras, and face masks that can be decorated with wire, jewelry chain, fabric and charms. Wire-wrap and sewing involved.

Mary Prince has been leading Maker workshops at Teslacon, and brought a Tiara workshop to Chicago Steampunk Expo last year. She will expand on last year’s workshops for our improved crafting room in 2024.

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Presented by Mary Prince

Free (tips accepted)

Books for your Vampire Weekend: Create your own notebook/scrapbook to document your weekend. Or, make other papercrafts, like a mini book based on the Underworld or Labyrinth movies.

Mary Prince has been doing maker workshops at Teslacon for years, and brought her mini book workshop to Chicago Steampunk Expo in 2023. She has also been turning convention notes and photos into mini-scrapbooks, and you can too!

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Presented by Annie ‘Sirkles’ Drahos (Materials Fee – $14)

Try your hand at the only fan-made script ever to appear on screen as ‘Circular Gallifreyan’ in BBC’s Doctor Who! This panel will be presented by Anna ‘Sirkles’ Drahos. She has been involved in the script’s development since 2011, and has been the primary ‘scribe for hire’ for most of that time, only taking a break to get her degree in education. The first 10-15 minutes of the panel will be a presentation on the script’s origin, development, influence on the fandom, common misconceptions, and appearance on the show. The majority of the workshop will be a tutorial on how to read and write using the script. Participants will be provided with a specialized stencil, notebook, pencil and some other goodies that they will get to keep!

The artwork created by Annie ‘Sirkles’ Drahos may look like a bunch of abstract circles, but the designs are actually the words and letters of an intricate circular script. This script started in 2011 when her friend, Loren Sherman, released the first ever widely used fan-made variation ‘Circular Gallifreyan.’ Not long after, she was listed on Loren’s site as the recommended artist for custom designs. Since that time, she has remained active in the script’s development and growth. As the popularity of the script continued to grow, it eventually made its way on screens in BBC’s very popular show: Doctor who. This, naturally, resulted in a huge boost to Annie’s career as a full-time scribe. With thousands of hours, over a decade of experience, and several hundred designs under her belt, she comfortably boasts to be the “most experienced scribe of the only fan made script to have ever appeared on Doctor Who.”

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Presented by Mark Huston

Informative talk with powerpoint from an engineer/author (SFWA Member) that talks about real steam. What it is, what it can (and cannot) do, how to make it, how to manage it, how to fuel it, and things that an author can use to make systems go “boom!”

Mark Huston is an author and engineer who lives and works in the Chicago area. He writes mostly in Eric Flint’s 1632 universe. His first novel, Up-Time Pride and Down-Time Prejudice was a 2020 Dragon Award finalist. Mark has appeared in F&SF and other publications. He writes Alternate History, SF, and Fantasy as the mood takes him. Religion nerd, history nerd. Historical sermon giver, former actor and director. Racer and car guy. Works with steam, turbo-machinery, and generally plays well with others. Generally.

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Presented by D.M. Ritzlin

Fantasy author D.M. Ritzlin will read “Black Castle of Torture” from his collection Necromancy in Nilztiria. Ritzlin’s tales of swords and sorcery are filled with adventure, wonder, and gallows humor.

D.M. Ritzlin is a Chicago-based author/publisher. He writes fantasy tales which mix action, horror, wonder, and gallows humor in varying degrees. His first collection of stories, Necromancy in Nilztiria, was released in October 2020. Ritzlin also owns and operates DMR Books, the leading publisher specializing in sword-and-sorcery fiction.

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Presented by Green Envy

Learn and play rollicking Victorian parlor games, including The Minister’s Cat, Elephant’s Foot Umbrella Stand, and Hunt The Slipper.

Green Envy has been running games and workshops at conventions across the Midwest for over 10 years. When she’s not at cons, Envy can be found sewing Victorian gowns, and lurking in crypts.

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