Susan Hooper, our Exposition Con Ops Director, has been working diligently with our host hotel and our consultant Lady Wheelsworth (AKA Sterling Silverman . . . pictured above with ASGARD) on reviewing the convention space in relation to ADA (American Disabilities Act) requirements. We are pleased to present our updated floor plan that includes a guide to the ADA compliant facilities at the hotel. A more detailed one-sheet will be available soon with additional information; this will be a specific page on our site, a downloadable (printer friendly) PDF, and hard copies will be available upon demand at our Convention Registration Desk. Thank you Susan and Sterling for working to make the Exposition even more inclusive for Steampunk fans.
Program Updates
More details were added to our Program list (including more Sterling Silverman 🙂 ) as we featured these presentations . . .
In March we will publish the full 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.
Exhibitor Updates
This week we featured two of our latest exhibitors to join Artist Alley and Printers’ Row.
Visit our Exhibitor Page to see all of our confirmed artists, displays, musicians, vendors, and writers
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.
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.
Join the Exposition Crew!
The Exposition is dedicated to providing Steampunk Fans a fun and safe weekend of entertainment, and to do so we need a dedicated Crew of fine volunteers.
If you would like to be part of the Exposition Crew, please fill out our Volunteer Application Form HERE and we will send you an invite to the next Crew Meeting.
The Venue
PLEASE NOTE – The cut off date to get the convention room rate is 3/14/23, and the hotel is filling up fast.
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.
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
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- 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 . . .
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- The Steam & Sorcery LARP game FREE rule book!
- Details about the Goblin King’s Masquerade Ball!
- . . . and . . . even more steamtastic information!
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