With less than a year until the return of the Chicago Steampunk Exposition our weekly countdown has begun!

Inspired by the 1893 Chicago World’s Exposition, we invite you to take a step back in time to an alternative history where technology and magic have accelerated the advancement of Victorian society at a much more rapid rate. Combine your imagination with immersion and experience the exhibits and wonders of the Exposition that neverwas.

Each week we will bring you updates on what you will find at the 2023 Exposition: entertainment, vendors, presenters, special events, and more!

Frenchy and the Punk

Fan favorites at both Steampunk events and Fairy Festivals, the dynamic duo known as Frenchy and the Punk are a perfect choice for Exposition 2023’s celebration of the Fae World, and we are so happy to have them be part of the entertainment line up for next April!

Through no design of their own, the Hudson valley, New York, based band has become an in-demand performer on the post-cabaret, mythic, and steampunk scenes, even as they eschew affectation and excessive theatricality. Their engaging, unladed live shows convert strangers to fans regardless of the setting. Hooray Beret offers the strongest proof to date of this band’s rich and edifying spirit of serious fun.

Released this year, their new album Hooray Beret offers 10 fiery, witty, and exhortative tracks that challenge listeners “to get off the hamster wheels of modern culture and social identity and cultivate a sturdier self and more authentic values.” The fourth full-length from bi-lingual French-born singer Samantha Stephenson and post-punk guitar visionary Scott Helland, Hooray Beret is organic and largely acoustic but relentless in its downhill grooves and cheeky garage noir riffage. In song after song, Stephenson nails the vanities, traps, and disfiguring pressures of 21st century life as she delivers a genuinely affirmative and urgent call to action: the action of self-reflection.

Learn more about Frenchy and the Punk at their website – FrenchyandthePunk.com

Look out for more Entertainment announcements coming soon.

Victorian Fae

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.” 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, but unlike the Republic of the Burgue, Chicago embraces diversity and multicultural exchanges.

Coming soon, we shall be seeking entries from artists and inventors to display pieces in our Special Exhibit, which will be a curated gallery of artworks for admiration and sale. Details to follow (very soon).

Presentations

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.

Exhibitors

This summer we shall begin to announce the line up of Artists, Authors, Exhibitors, and Vendors who will be joining us in April 2023.

If you would like to be an Exposition Exhibitor, please submit an application HERE.

The Venue

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.

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.