16 Weeks until the Exposition!

We at the Chicago Steampunk Exposition wish you and your loved ones a very happy holiday season!

Programming Updates

This week we we reorganized the listings on our Program Page into different categories, and added the following presentation to our Storytelling & Readings line up.

The Silk Empress, a Reading by the Author

Even though we have a good amount of presentations, panels, and other events, we are still looking to add more to the 2023 Exposition Program. So, if you have some Steampunk related knowledge that you would like to share with attendees, please don’t delay in sending us your information by filling out the Presenter Application Form.

The 2023 Program
Thus Far

Tea Time with our Guests of Honor

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

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 mysteries of the fae presence at the 1893 World’s Fair with our Live Action Role Play game Steam & Sorcery.

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 on January 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. 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 🙂

Join the Exposition!

There are many ways in which you can be a part of the 2023 Chicago Steampunk Exposition! The most obvious is to be an attendee with a ticket, but other opportunities are available.

If you have Steampunk related knowledge and expertise that you would like to share at the Exposition, then we invite you be part of the Program and submit your proposals for presentations.
If you would like to be a part of the Exposition Crew, volunteer positions are available – apply here.

The Venue

This month the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg is in the festive mood with lights and decorations tastefully displayed around the spacious hotel lobby.

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

The 2023 Chicago Steampunk Exposition is being hosted at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg. 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.