Category: Program

Presented by Michael Parodi 

Explore the early films that influenced the concept of Steampunk!

Come talk about the movies that the presenter feels influenced the concept of Steampunk.

Let’s explore the movies from the 50’s and 60’s (and even earlier) that led to what we came to know as steampunk.

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 Fiona Finnigan

Death, the Great Unifier, unknowable and unavoidable. What else is there to do then, but to make Art about it?

This presentation takes a look at death imagery in Western Art, focusing in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.

Fiona Finnigan is an adjunct professor of art history at Lincoln Land Community College. She received her MA in History of Visual and Material Culture ( thats the history of stuff!) from Southern Illinois University. When she isn’t teaching or working on her steampunk gear, she likes to do every kind of needlework know to mankind.

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Presented by David T.

Workshop Material Fee – $3

Calling all vampires! Make a fashionable jar to carry some spare blood around.

We’ll fill it with a glittering, nonalcoholic “blood” you can actually drink.

David T. is a costumer and crafter and the 2022 Vampire Queen of Chicago. He lives with his wife in a haunted Victorian home in Waukegan.

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Presented by Dannyn Qualls-Gibeau

A veritable meet-up of Lady Poisoners throughout history, with the main focus being on those women from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. We will cover poisonous plants, chemicals and elements, as well as explore the underlying reasons for such drastic measures to be taken by women the world over.

Part automaton, all intellectual dilettente, Dannyn Qualls-Gibeau spends inordinate amounts of time venturing to the past to get answers for questions as old as time.

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Presented by Douglas J. Dahlberg PE

Lighting the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition (World’s Fair) involved Conflict, Competition, and Varied Currents. Nikola Tesla using Alternating Current with Westinghouse and Thomas Edison with Direct Current and General Electric became a battle of technology, brains, and law suits. Learn the behind the scene challenges, Nikola Tesla’s role while working with the Vampire Consortium, and which current is better and why it won the competition. Vampire’s origin: Bulgaria. Nikola Tesla’s origin: Bulgaria. Coincidence, I don’t think so.

Seven different Nosferatu deterrent Egyptian essence perfume 2ml samples will be handed out along with three nearly amazing prizes. Ever wonder why there’s no Vampire stories from Egypt? Wonder no more.

Recently retired engineer from the company that provided wiring design for the Columbian Exposition 130 years ago, Mr. Dahlberg has given nearly 100 presentations over his career. No stranger to Steampunk, he brings 13 years of convention experience to the podium. Being multiple different characters at every convention, you never know who he’ll be.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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