One more week from now and we shall be down to single digits for our countdown to the return of the Exposition, Chicago’s LARGEST ever Steampunk event!

This week we completed the first draft of the schedule and are running it by presenters to make sure that all runs smoothly for everyone. In March we will publish the schedule so you can begin planning your weekend; events will be listed on our Schedule Pages, and a printer friendly PDF will also be available for those who prefer paper. Meanwhile you can preview much of what will be on offer by visiting our Program Page, and also check out our expansive list of Exhibitors who will be vending, promoting, and entertaining with their wares and displays.

Lady Wheelsworth gets a boost from ASGARD!

Susan Hooper, our Con Ops Director, has been diligently bringing together many things for the convention, and one of her projects has been surveying the host hotel’s layout and documenting its ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliances in order to create a comprehensive guide to accessibility around the convention space.

Fairly soon we shall have a page on this site for that information, and a one sheet guide that will be available at the Exposition Registration Desk. We are happy to announce that Lady Wheelsworth (pictured above) has teamed up with us to give her insights and support.


Program Updates

This week we added a couple more session descriptions to our continually growing list of programming on offer this April.

To learn more about the presentations we added this week, please click on the title of the session.

Click HERE to see our complete list (thus far) of Programming for April 2023.


Victorian Fae at the 1893 World’s Fair

Each year the Chicago Steampunk Exposition hosts a Special Exhibit that sets the underlying “theme” for that year’s convention; for 2023 our special exhibit will be “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Fantastic Discovery of the Fae World” setting the theme of Victorian Fae at the 1893 World’s Fair.

Season 2 of “Carnival Row” debuts on February 17th, 2023

This exhibit will feature art, relics, and other items of interest collected around the Fae Academia following Doyle and his father establishing diplomatic contact with the Fae territories. The Exposition will celebrate the many cultures, achievements, and art of Faekind, and be joined by ambassadors and representatives of these magical realms as we welcome them to Chicago. In many ways this will be like Carnival Row (pictured above), but unlike the Republic of the Burgue, Chicago embraces diversity and multicultural exchanges.

PLEASE NOTE that ALL costuming is welcome, not just Fae, and you don’t even have to come in costume; 21st Century “Time Tumblers” are welcome to 1893 as well 🙂


Tea Time with our Guests of Honor

Limited tickets are now available for both Saturday and Sunday to share tea and finger foods with Leanna Renee Hieber, SJ Tucker, Frenchy & the Punk, or Tobias McCurry; tea time with Gail Carriger has sold out.

Each Guest of Honor will have their own banquet round table, and all at the table will be served 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).

The Guests of Honor Tea Party starts at 2PM in the Cyan Tea Parlor. Pre-sales are electronic, but a physical ticket to the Tea Party will be given during check-in with the Exposition Registration Desk. Tickets are required when arriving at the Tea Parlor.

Click Here to Buy
Tea Tickets

Immerse Yourself in the Adventure!

This April, the Exposition invites you to immerse yourself into the weekend’s story arc as we solve the far mysteries at the 1893 World’s Fair with our Live Action Role Play game Steam & Sorcery.

Assemble your team of Smog Runners, get a mission from your Fixer, and run weekend long espionage and investigations into the four Robber Baronies that rule over Chicago in this 1893 timeline. You’ll need a QR code reader on your smartphone, a deck of playing cards, and your wits.

The “elevator pitch” for Steam & Sorcery is “Steampunk Shadowrun.” Our LARP is inspired by a number of things, but the feel of the game is very akin to the classic cyberpunk meets fantasy RPG Shadowrun. First published in 1989 by FASA, Shadowrun is currently in its sixth edition with publishers Catalyst Games. As an homage to the original 1989 cover art by legendary fantasy artist Larry Elmore, we commissioned artist Emily Vitori to create a team of “Steamrunners” ( featured above) for the cover of the Steam & Sorcery Rule Book set to come out this month.

While we had hoped to publish the rule book for January 1st, 2023, various holiday obligations and unforeseen circumstances have pushed this back by a week or so, HOWEVER, things are still looking good for the release to still happen this month.


Join the Exposition!

If you would like to be part of the crew, please fill out our Volunteer Application Form HERE and we send you and invite to our February 16th Crew Zoom Meeting.


The Venue

Great room prices, free parking, a number of nearby restaurants, and easy to find, the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg is our new home for the Chicago Steampunk Exposition!

  • More rooms have been added to the room block, so if you were having trouble booking a room, please try again.
  • Due to the room blocks for Thursday (4/13/23) night and Sunday (4/16/23) night being smaller than Friday and Saturday, guests might encounter a “sold out” experience if checking in on Thursday or out on Sunday. We are in regular communication with the hotel to add more rooms whenever these two dates begin to fill up, but occasionally the booking rate can overtake us. 
  • Please let us know if you are having trouble booking a room by emailing CarabasEvents@gmail.com

This upscale hotel is a short drive from O’Hare International Airport with many facilities both in the hotel and surrounding it, plus FREE PARKING.

Click on Map to Expand

Visit our Venue Page to learn more about the layout of the show floors and what to expect from the Exposition new home.

Room prices and booking information are all listed on the Book Rooms page.


Social Media


On the Horizon . . .
      • The Steam & Sorcery LARP game FREE rule book!
      • Details about the Goblin King’s Masquerade Ball!
      • . . . and . . . even more steamtastic information!

Chicago Steampunk Exposition